Hunger Games High School: Another Year
by CelticGames4
Summary: A High School AU with the HG characters along with the OCs of myself and friends. Join the students of Panem High as they fight through the twists, turns and drama of high school. Bonnie and Posy are in love with the same guy, Prim and Rory try to maintain a relationship through the stresses of Junior year, Marvel is a senior and unsure if he can handle the pressure. R&R Please!
1. Chapter 1: Another Year

**Chapter One: Another Year**

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Primrose Everdeen flops over in bed and groans. She _knew_ that she'd have to get up early, but her sleep schedule was messed up so bad already she wasn't asleep till late. Waking up is just as bad she told herself it would be.

Suddenly, Prim sits up straight in bed. _It's the first day of school! _

Her older sister Katniss is away at college, they moved her in the week before… Yes, it's school time again. And school means fall. Fall means nice sweatshirt and jeans weather.

Prim, who likes to dress nicely, yawns as she crawls out of bed and goes to the bathroom to wash her face. She puts on a pretty dress and a pair of flats that give her blisters on the back of her heels but are too cute to part with. For the first day of school she puts her blonde hair up in a ponytail and then gets to doing her makeup.

Prim is a junior at Panem High School and today is the first day. She grabs some breakfast and then brushes her teeth, having to run to get out the door.

Prim's father is a teacher at Panem High; he's the choral director and the director of the school's glee club. Prim joined the club towards the end of her freshman year, but plays violin in the pit more than she really sings. He had already left to go to the school, but since Prim refused to get up at 5:00 in the morning, she just decided she'd rather ride the bus.

She walks out to her bus stop in the chilly morning. A breeze felt cold against the girl's skin, but she knows it would get exponentially hotter as the day goes on. At the bus stop, she meets her best friend and boyfriend Rory Hawthorne, a fellow junior, who is wearing a jacket and T-shirt with jeans. Along with him is his younger sister Posy, who is a sophomore.

"Good morning," Prim says, smiling and giving him a peck on the lips.

"Hey," he smiles, taking her hand, "How was your morning?"

"Alright. Mom was still sleeping," Prim giggles a little bit.

"Of course."

"How about you?"

"Let's just say I could get used to mornings without Vick hogging the shower and wasting all our hot water."

Prim laughs, and Rory notices how her blue eyes light up when she does so. He loves that about her.

"Gross," Posy remarks, leaning against a lamppost. She's single and fine with the fact, though she does have a small crush on a boy she knows…

"Sorry Pos," Prim says. "How are you feeling?"

Posy yawns in response with a long blink. "Tired," she remarks.

At seeing the younger girl yawn, Prim yawns herself and then says, "Yeah, I know the feeling. I'd probably have fallen back asleep if it wasn't the first day of school."

"I did fall back asleep," Posy says, "But Rory got me up again."

"You're welcome!" he says, though she didn't thank him. "You had all your time to primp for the Irish kid."

Posy scowls embarrassedly, "Shut up, it wasn't for him! I just like to feel pretty!" Prim suddenly realizes that Posy is dressed in skinnier jeans than usual and wears a nice shirt and camisole duo, her hair pulled up in a tight ponytail with a bow tied around it.

"You look nice, Posy!" Prim says as they hear the bus coming to pick them up.

"She just hopes Kelley agrees!"

"Thanks," Posy offers a smile to Prim, sticking her tongue out at her brother as the doors open and the three get on the bus.

Posy sees her best friend Bonnie, a fellow sophomore, and plops down next to her in the seat.

Bonnie, a naturally happy girl with curly brown hair and the brightest brown eyes Posy's ever known, grins and greets her cheerily, "Good morning Posy!"

"Hey," the Hawthorne girl mumbles tiredly, putting her knees against the seat in front of her and suppressing another yawn.

"Your outfit is so cute! You should wear your hair like that more often!"

"Thanks." Posy doesn't dress nicely or put her hair up very often. She doesn't feel like herself in these clothes, but doesn't mind the compliments so she tolerates it. The bus gets moving again, on it's way to pick up other students.

"Aren't you excited, Posy!?" Bonnie asks. She's wearing a bright dress like Prim and nice sandals, continuing to smile broadly at her friend.

"Yeah, whatever. It's only our sophomore year, it's not really significant."

"Sure it is!"

Posy shrugs and tries a small smile.

Prim and Rory sit in the back with the rest of their older friends. The group is small considering the others are still waiting to be picked up, but that's fine for Prim and Rory because they get to pick which seat they want for themselves.

The stop after that picks up a beaming senior named Poppy Schward, who takes a seat closer to the back than usual, putting her backpack beside her to save the spot for her boyfriend. It also picks up a beaming senior named Crawley Archer, a drum major for the school band. He takes a seat in the very back seat, beaming and greeting his friends happily.

"Good morning!"

"Hi Crawley," Prim says, smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm excited! I can't believe it, I can't believe I'm a senior! It's insane! Time needs to stop!" Poppy laughs a little (they just had the same conversation while waiting for the bus), and nods. "I agree. Next year we'll be at college!"

"Oh God, don't go there…" Crawley sighs. He's still not sure what he wants to do.

The bus keeps driving on, stopping again soon to pick up a senior named Marvel and the two Irish boys that recently moved with their family into a house diagonal from Marvel's.

The older of the two Irish boys, Edward O'Callaghan, walks to the back and takes an empty seat for himself. He listens to the conversation more than he talks, smiling and greeting his friends with a wave. Edward's a junior now, Prim and Rory's age.

Edward's brother Kelley, a sophomore, sits on the seat beside where Bonnie and Posy sit.

"Good morning Kelley!" Bonnie says, smiling at him. Her eyes are even brighter, if possible, and though it's hard for Posy and Kelley to see, her cheeks begin to blush light pink.

"Morning Bonnie!" he says, his voice laced with an Irish accent. "Morning Posy!"

"M-Morning Kelley." Posy hates the fact that she stutters when he's around. He's just so cute, his shaggy brown hair, his bright green eyes. He wears a green T-shirt and jeans with a pair of green converse on his feet, as usual.

"You both look really nice!" he comments, smiling. Both girls smile, Bonnie giggles a bit.

"Thanks," they both say. Posy is flustered at the compliment, but Bonnie looks like her whole day has been made.

"Are you ready for school!?" he asks enthusiastically.

"No," Posy says bluntly. "I don't want to go back."

"I guess I'm ready enough," Bonnie shrugs.

"I'm excited! I can't wait to play French horn and sing and have a great year!" he says loudly, causing the surrounding people to look over.

"Only you, Kelley," Posy says, though she's smiling. Bonnie nods and says, "Only you."

But his optimism and sense of humor is one thing both girls love about him.

Marvel follows Edward to the back, and Poppy picks up her backpack for him to sit next to her.

"Hey guys," he says with a smile, as Poppy pecks him on the cheek.

"How are you this wonderful morning?" she asks as he puts an arm around her.

"A little tired, but mostly excited and shocked. It seemed like just yesterday Glimmer, Cato, Clove and I were driving to school in Gloss's truck instead of taking the bus…" Sophomore year really changed him.

"I know. Those were the good ol' days, I guess."

"Or not so good," Marvel says, a little quieter.

"But, hey, those are the days of the past now!" Crawley interjects optimistically. "We don't have to worry about them anymore, we're seniors!"

"Yeah," Poppy adds, "So smile again! This year is going to be great!"

Marvel just shrugs, eventually putting a smile back on as the bus stops to collect Tanner Tyson Cooper, a senior who has blue eyes and dark hair. He sits next to Edward and greets everyone with a smile.

"Hey guys! Excited?!"

"Yeah, yeah, blah blah, what the hell happened with you and Ben!?" Crawley asks, excited to finally hear from the source.

"Well, uh…" Tanner laughs a little, blushing and scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "Uh, I still don't know. I kissed him and ran, and haven't seen him since."

"Good luck telling Jason that," Edward remarks, smiling a little.

Ben Hoffsteader is a senior and the school bully. He is despised by everyone except for Tanner, who somehow managed to fall in love with him. Tanner's friends, in particular Ben's cousin Skeeter and his friend Jason, thought he was crazy, but Tanner _still _stands by his belief that Ben is mean because he's vulnerable and can be changed.

Unfortunately for Tanner, not only is he Ben's biggest target, but over the summer he lost control, kissed his bully, and ran away. He's been stressing about this day ever since then.

"Don't worry, you'll be okay. Hoffsteader won't lay a finger on you in school, especially not the first day, and especially not with Hollow around."

As if they'd summoned him, Jason Hollow and his best friend Locke Gedeckt are picked up just then and sit together in a seat. "Someone call?" Jason asks, hearing his last name used in conversation.

"Ha, yeah! We were just talking about Tanner's deal with Hoffsteader," Rory says.

"Oh." Jason's expression darkens to almost pure evil. "Tell me about that, Tanner. Then I'll break every bone in his body."

"Don't hurt him!" Tanner protests, and Locke nods in stern agreement.

"Tell me!" Jason is not in the mood for games. He absolutely _despises_ Ben with everything in him. In fact, he's threatened the senior's life on multiple occasions.

"I kissed him and ran away, and I haven't seen him since. He hasn't hurt me, don't hurt him."

"Oh God," Locke mumbles. He is about to add on, _"You're dead meat," _but decides against it to save Tanner's hopes.

"Yeah. I've been stressing out."

"Don't worry about it. Hoffsteader _knows_ not to mess with me."

"For God's sake Jason, don't hurt him!"

"I never said I would! Just distributing some ruthless threats and warnings!"

Locke and Jason roll their eyes. Everyone else on the bus laughs a little bit as the bus pulls up to the school.

* * *

Meanwhile, Skeeter Hoffsteader-Odair and his girlfriend Rue are carpooling together in Rue's mom's car to the school. The two have been best friends since they were too young to remember, and got together toward the end of their freshman year.

Skeeter is nervous for the day and has been for a while; Ben is his cousin (who hates him) and Tanner is his friend… He already talked with Tanner about the events between Tanner and Ben, and Skeeter's a little concerned for his friend's safety.

Rue keeps telling him that Tanner will be fine, and presenting the possibility that Ben changed. She is one of the few people that believes in Tanner's theory that Ben is good deep inside, just broken. Skeeter doesn't believe it for a single second. He is probably part of the reason for Jason's flaming hatred for Ben.

Rue and Locke support Tanner in his attempts to get to Ben's heart, as long as he doesn't get _himself_ hurt, while Skeeter and Jason are absolutely opposed to it. They don't understand how the hell Tanner could've possible fallen in love with someone who's inflicted so much pain on him.

The car parks at the school and the couple gets out, grabbing their backpacks and walking in together.

* * *

The morning of assemblies seems to fly by, and soon it's lunch time.

A girl with a single red ribbon in her hair sits by herself at a table, reading a book. She eats as she reads, though it is inefficient. Suddenly, a strong arm wraps around her shoulders as a smiling boy takes a seat next her with a loud greeting, "Hey Byna!"

Crawley puts his tray down and pats her back before he starts to eat, "Hope you don't mind my sitting here. You just looked a little lonely!" Crawley's younger sisters, a freshman named Rebecca and a sophomore named Miranda, soon sit by them along with Kelley, Posy, Locke, Jason, Tanner and Rue.

"Oh yeah, and I hope you don't mind my inviting some friends."

The girl is a little shell-shocked, but shrugs it off and puts a mark in her book, putting the book in her backpack. _It is not proper to read while talking to people. _One of the many pristine rules she learned from her intolerably old-fashioned parents.

"T-That's fine." She's a little overwhelmed still, but keeps eating as the group launches into excited chatter. She was always so okay with eating by herself, and this loud, friendly boy kept bringing laughter and friendship right to her.

"Great!" He smiled at Rue and Tanner, who aren't in the band, and introduced her, "Guys, these are my sisters, Rebecca and Miranda," he gestured to each of them, who waved a little, "And this is Anita, but we call her Aerobyna based off her favorite book character and her initials! Ha, that's super cool, ain't it?! She's a drum major and she's playing in pit for glee club! Anyways, Byn, this is Rue and Tanner. They both sing."

"Nice to meet you!" Rue says happily. Tanner keeps glancing around for Ben, but sees nothing of him.

Aerobyna just gives them a nod, smiling a little. "You too," she says quietly. "I play the clarinet and the organ."

"Cool!"

The group explodes into excited chatter, eating and laughing and sharing time together.

* * *

Seventh period comes faster than anyone thought it would.

When the kids walk into the room, they hear someone playing the piano in the front corner of the room. Though quiet, it's precise and masterful.

Aerobyna and Crawley walk in together, and when she hears the piano music she stops and looks over to the man behind the piano.

"I recognize that guy," she whispers as she and Crawley take a seat. "Yeah… He's my organ teacher's son! Fellington…"

Crawley looks over as the bell rings and the club's attention is brought to the front.

"Good morning!" Mr. Everdeen says, smiling at his glee club.

"Morning!" the students say enthusiastically. The club's singers include Tanner and Marvel, Rue, Skeeter, Prim, and Edward, Posy, Bonnie, and Kelley, Rebecca, and two other freshmen that nobody recognizes.

The pit includes Crawley, Aerobyna, Locke, Jason, and an assortment of other students with instruments.

"Welcome, one and all, to your glee club!" he smiles broadly. The students cheer happily.

"So, let's start with introductions. I am Mr. Everdeen, your glee club teacher." He waves over the young man that was sitting at the piano.

"This is your student teacher, Mr. Fellington." He smiled at the young man with black hair and green eyes. "Want to add anything?"

The college kid just shakes his head.

"So, let's start in the back with introductions. Go for it."

Prim is first. "Hi, I'm Prim, I'm a junior."

The introductions snake around the room, from Prim to Bonnie to Posy and Kelley to Rue and Skeeter and Edward to the pit and finally to the freshmen. The three freshmen are Rebecca, Crawley's sister, a girl with dark hair named Ashley, and another girl with dirty blonde hair named Priscilla.

"And finally, your seniors and leaders, Marvel and Tanner!" Both boys wave. Neither is confident in their ability to run a glee club, but they're going to try.

"And there we are… We have a great club this year and it's going to be amazing! We'll start singing first thing tomorrow, so be ready. But, for today, we'll have a free period considering we don't have a lot of time left anyways." He dissolves into talking to the student teacher, and the students soon dissolve into their own individual conversations.

Before the students know it, the bell rings. And with that, the first day of school is over.

The year is going to be a blast.

~.~.

_**A/N: Hello, and welcome to the third installment of the Hunger Games High School stories! If you're just joining, welcome, and if you're returning, I'm glad you're back! This year has already proven to be insane and I'm not even 10 days into school, so I'll say this: there will be at least one update every month. For this story I think I'll try to do a longer update and also a shorter update each month to not pile work on myself but also give you something to read. Alright, time for disclaimers. **_

_**I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters. **_

_**I also don't own Jason, Locke, or Aerobyna. They belong to my friend Sinfonian Legend. You should TOTALLY check her out! **_

_**There will be more disclaimers to come, I'm sure. Anyways, thanks for reading! **_


	2. Chapter 2: Sparks

_**A/N: If by some miracle this story gets any readers, I'll say that this chapter is OC-Centric. Future chapters will include more of Prim/Rory, Rue and Marvel, but until then, sorry. Read if you want, but this one just has OC's. **_

**Chapter Two: Sparks**

"Are you stupid?"

"Huh?"

Jason lets out an exasperated sigh and smacks his forehead. "Are you stupid? You must have a death wish! Do you realize what Hoffsteader's done to you, to everyone around him!?"

"I've been called stupid before," Tanner says with an ice-cold glare toward Jason. Locke sits in the corner of the room, his hands writhing nervously in his lap, biting his lip. He'd always known this was not going to be a pretty conversation, but he just sits and stays quiet. He promised Jason before it happened that he would unless things became extreme.

Jason swallows hard. A voice in the back of his head tells him he's being unreasonable, but Jason doesn't care. He takes a breath, trying to calm down just a little bit. "S-Sorry, those weren't the right words."

"Damn right they weren't!" Tanner retorts with a scowl.

Now Jason's the one being yelled at. He frowns and silently vows to think of his words before he says them. "I'm sorry, alright?"

"Fine."

"I only want what's best for you, Tanner! And I don't want you getting hurt. Skeeter feels the same way, believe it or not."

"Oh, I believe it," Tanner says, scowling.

"The point is that we only want what's best for you, and it's not him!"

"You think I don't know that!?" The senior keeps two tight fists at his sides. The retort throws Jason off and he's left dumbfounded. "Wh-what?"

"You think I want this!? You think I haven't been praying to God every night to get me out of it? You think I want to talk to Ben, after what happened? Because I sure don't," Tanner scowls, his voice shaking a little.

"Then don't do it!" It's the only solution that makes any kind of sense to Jason.

"It's not that easy!" Tanner tries to think of how he can put this into words that someone as oblivious and awkward as Jason can understand.

"How isn't it easy? You don't want to do it, just don't do it!"

"I dunno why! How the hell do you expect me to explain this to you when I'm still not sure about it myself!? I'm in love, Jason, I knew it from the very start and realized it a couple months ago! There's just… It's just…" Lacking a good explanation, Tanner groans and buries his face in his hands.

"It's just what?!" Jason blinks, still dumbfounded.

Tanner dramatically lowers his voice to a deep, quiet, but serious tone. "Jason, you don't understand. You don't understand because you've never even felt _close _to this way before."

"I-" he shut his mouth and stared at the floor. Tanner was… Right.

"I've been in love before…" Tanner's mind wanders, "But never like this. I don't like it, but it's been driving me crazy! I have to know. Even though I probably won't like the answer, I have to know."

"I still don't get it. If you don't like Ben so much, you can't be in love with him. That's just stupid."

"I don't dislike him. I dislike what he's being right now. But I know he can change. I'm determined to get him to change." Tanner clenches his teeth together tightly. "I don't like it, but it's what I have to do. Strip away the layers. He comes first, he comes before my family, he comes before my friends, he comes before _me._"

The whole conversation's been going over Jason's head, but especially this. "How!? How could you ever think of someone so terrible like that!?"

"_I don't know Jason_! I just don't know! Love is weird, but I have to sort it out now. I can't avoid him forever."

"Stick with me and you sure can," Jason mumbles. "You think I'd ever leave my knife at home?"

"Jason!" Locke whispers sharply. He was trying so hard to stay quiet, but just couldn't after a comment like that.

"Oh, relax. It'll only be used as a threat. For now."

"Don't threaten him!" Tanner says defensively. "I told you, he comes before me. Which means that I have to help him… No matter _how_ hard it is. Jason, I don't care if you don't like him. You sound like everyone else who's tried to talk me out of this."

"There've been others!?" Jason internally celebrates that he wasn't the only one.

"But I'm not listening to you. You don't understand, none of you've ever been this deep in love before." He tries to put it on some kind of relatable terms. "Like… Like Santana. That girl you had some weird connection with last year."

"Leave her out-"

"Sh. Listen. She was one of the most broken people out there. If you ever saw her broken… Wouldn't you at least want to try and fix her? When Locke lost his watch last year… He was so broken. Didn't you want to help him? Didn't you want to get it back for him?"

"Yes, but-"

"I don't care if they're just your friends, it's the same concept."

"How can you love someone you don't even know!?"

"I don't know! I told you, I'm still confused! But all I know is this: I'm going to talk to him. And you're not going to stop me." With this final conclusive statement, Tanner walks out the door, pushing past Jason.

Jason and Locke both stare after him, dumbfounded.

Tanner's comparison helped Jason to pin a feeling to the description, but he still doesn't understand. _Locke and Santana are people I really care about… But they're people I know really well. How can Tanner feel such a connection to such a douchebag like Ben when he isn't sure the guy even HAS a good side? How can someone feel that way about some asswad they don't even know? _

_Oh, God. Love is so weird._

* * *

Tanner walks up and down the sidewalk in the city, biting his lip, trying to calm down. He's so stressed out, so worked up, so incredibly upset he's tearing himself apart.

He knows what he has to do. He has to talk to Ben tomorrow, no matter wha-

A hand grabs Tanner's shoulder and drags him behind a building before he has time to realize what happened. He's about to make some kind of scream when a rough but firm hand cups his jaw and tilts his head upwards, and rough but all-too-gentle lips press against his own.

It's all too familiar; the taste, the scent, the feeling… Tanner's heart practically stops, his eyes sliding shut… Before he knew it, Ben pulled away, his hand releasing Tanner's jawline, turning away from him.

Tanner watches, still shocked and heart pounding hard. It's just then he remembers to breathe.

"B-Be-"

But he's cut off, "Shut up." The skinnier, taller senior takes a breath before he speaks again, in a low, quiet voice. "I never got to tell you but… Thank you."

"Huh?"

"I said _thank you. _In case you haven't noticed, no one cares about me at all. They're rude. Mean. Why are you different?"

"I… I don't know. I fell in love with you somehow. Don't ask how because I don't know. I guess I saw something in you that no one else has seen. And I want to bring it out. But I can't explain how, or why-"

"I get it."

Boy, this guy's just full of surprises today, isn't he!? Tanner raises an eyebrow, "Hm?"

"_I get it_. I've been avoiding you for all this time because…" he hangs his head, "Because I thought that maybe it would change. I thought I'd get over it, grow out of it. And yet we're here. I haven't. I was so wrong, but what does it matter now?!"

Tanner's eyes are wide as he takes in every detail of this very moment, the moment Ben Hoffsteader broke down in front of his very eyes.

"But…" he takes a step forward, "It's never too late."

"Yes it is! I've ruined _lives_, Tanner!"

"But now you can help build them up again!"

"Everyone hates me!"

"That can change." Tanner's expression is soft and encouraging.

"I'm fucked up like you wouldn't believe."

"That doesn't matter! None of that matters now! I'm here to help you!"

"So!?"

"So, that's one more person fighting for you than you had yesterday! And I'm ready to help you because I l… I really like you." He corrects himself last-minute. "I'll be there for you, always. Please, Ben. _Please._ Just let me in." It was such a desperate effort, but the pleading was evident in the crystal tears forming in Tanner's blue eyes.

Ben softens immediately. He breaks eye-contact and stares at the ground, taking a step closer. He takes Tanner's hand gently in his own and holds it lightly. "Fate's such a bitch."

Tanner actually laughs a little. Through the tsunami of emotions he's feeling, he laughs. It's the best Tanner's felt in days, weeks, months, maybe even years. Seeing Ben smile: a real smile, not that smirk or fake smile: makes it all better. Makes it all worth it.

"It's not going to be easy," he says, smile fading. Tanner decides he wants to see that smile again. He wants to see it often, frequently… He wants to see it all the time.

"But nothing easy is really worth it in the end." He brings Ben's hand up to his lips and gently kisses it. "And something tells me this'll be worth it." He pushes thoughts of Skeeter and Jason and Crawley and the rest of the glee club's thoughts out of his mind.

Then he realizes something powerful. _I was right. Everyone else, everyone that doubted me, told me I shouldn't… They were all wrong! I was right! I WAS RIGHT! I believed in myself, and I was right! _

He laughed again. He knows he can do anything! He gains a load of self-confidence in that moment, and happiness. He feels safe, like nothing could ever happen to him or Ben or anyone ever again.

"What's funny?" the expression on Ben's face was borderline hurt. "N-Not mocking me already, right?"

Tanner looks over, his joyfulness increased. "Of course not! Really, I'm not. I just… I'm happy. Aren't you?"

"I guess. I'm just… Not quite as optimistic as you are. Never will be."

"That's okay. But… You should try to forget. Just for a second, forget about all of them. Forget about everyone, everything that bothers you. And just think of me. I'll be your best friend, whatever you want me to be. I won't even tell anyone, if you don't want me to."

"That includes-"

"Yes, it includes Jason and Skeeter as well. And Locke, and all of them."

"You'd do that?"

"I'd do anything."

Ben looks at him, this shorter, blue-eyed, dark-haired boy that's already changed his life so much…

"I can't believe it. I don't deserve you at all. I'm sorry you ended up with someone so broken like me."

"That's okay. I'll fix you, Hoffsteader. I promise I'll fix you, no matter how hard it is." He smiled up at Ben, and after a pause, Ben smiled down at him again.

_Some story, _Tanner thought, _the time I found love in an alleyway of the city. And kissed my bully twice-_

Lips pressed against his again and he kissed back. The touch was gone soon, though, and he watched Ben walk away from there, a weird kind of skip in his step.

_Scratch that. Three times. _


	3. Chapter 3: Hey! Baby

**Chapter Three: Hey! Baby**

Prim walks into school that Monday, dressed in a pink, flowery, tropical dress. Her long blonde hair is tied in pigtails with little pink flowers tied around them. It's Spirit Week at Panem High, and today is Tropical Monday.

Prim is a member of the school's student council, which means she has to participate in Spirit week, even if she doesn't want to. Not that Prim minded, though, she was having fun already and felt very cute.

Rue and Skeeter both wear Hawaiian shirts and shorts, not going quite as far as Prim but still looking quite tropical. Tanner wears a Hawaiian shirt and jeans, with a straw hat that isn't permitted in school unless he's outside. The three of them walk into school together, going through the metal detectors like all students must and then taking a seat in the cafeteria as they waited to be released to their lockers and their homerooms. Looking around, Tanner accidentally makes eye-contact with Ben and cracking a smile. Ben laughs a little and looks away, putting his head down on the desk and blushing dark red.

Prim waves to the trio as she takes a seat and soon she sees Rory, dressed up in a dark hoody, jeans, and boots.

Prim stares at him, trying not to laugh. "Rory! What happened to, _Of course I'll dress up for Spirit Week!_?"

Rory shrugs, "I did. I'm having an anti-spirit week."

Prim just looks at him, bewildered. "Excuse me?"

"An anti-spirit week," the Hawthorne boy repeats, grinning and feeling very clever. "It's the opposite of spirit week."

_Well, that explains what he's wearing, _Prim thinks. "I will never understand you," she finally sighs, though she tries not to smile or giggle like she wants to.

"But you love me anyways!" he says, grinning cutely and wrapping his arms around her.

Prim has to laugh, "Heaven only knows why…"

Rory smiles, "So, what's tomorrow, again?"

Prim looks at him, trying to look unamused but cracking, "Twin Tuesday." Her bright blue eyes give away her amusement, and Rory sees it right away, his smile brightening.

"And Wednesday?"

"Way-back Wednesday." By now, Prim just tries not to giggling thinking about the ridiculous costumes or outfits her boyfriend might be planning to wear.

"I see that look you're giving me!" Rory says, laughing, "And I don't appreciate it!"

"What are you going to do? Dump me?" the sassy eleventh-grader studies him, a critical expression on her face hiding her giddy happiness. "You're lucky to have scored someone like me," she says, in the most sarcastically serious voice she could muster.

"I could never dump you. Not even in a joking way," he says, keeping his arms around her. He's smiling and little laughs escape his mouth, but Prim knows by his tone that the statement was very serious.

"Good. Because I love you. Dorky outfits, anti-spirit week and all."

Rory laughs happily and kisses the top of her head. "And I love you too, babe."

* * *

"Alright, this place is already really weird and all, but why do you all look so stupid today?"

The kids of the glee club exchange a glance amongst each other. Last year, they had a student teacher that was exciting, relatable, and cool, but this one… This one is definitely a lot more of a piece of work. His name is Mr. Fellington, and he's not from the area, nor is he very open minded.

The vast majority of the glee club and the pit are dressed up tropically, but none of them look even remotely fashionable except for Prim and, surprisingly, Locke. Jason chose to sit out of spirit week, (he always has), and Posy joined the bandwagon for Rory's alternative, the Anti-Spirit Week.

Their student teacher, an… unpleasant young man with tan skin, dark curly hair, and judgmental green eyes. He scales all of them with his eyes and waits for someone to speak up.

"It's spirit week," Tanner says, and everyone looks over at him.

"Spirit week?"

"Tropical Monday," Skeeter adds awkwardly. The others nod quickly.

"Tropical Monday," the student teacher echoes, glancing at all of them in a moment of silence. "Of _course_ it is."

Mr. Everdeen steps in, trying to release the tension, "Right, uh, well then! Let's do some interval review and get things started…" He and Mr. F. pass out the papers with the review written on it, but that doesn't help the students' dislike for this new student teacher.

* * *

Rue and Skeeter twin together the next day for Twin Tuesday. Prim twins with Miranda, Rue with Skeeter, Marvel with Poppy, Crawley with Byna (she's only doing it because she _has _to), Bonnie with Kelley, and Locke with a very grudging Jason. (Or, well, basically, Locke wears the same colors as Jason but in a more stylish outfit.)

Rory wears a brightly colored T-shirt to ensure that he won't look anything like anyone. Posy chooses to wear a skin-colored outfit. Ashley and Priscilla, two freshmen girls, twin together, winning the prize for most similar outfits down to the matching ribbon in her hair.

Seventh period comes around and once again the pairs of twins are being criticized silently by their student teacher. He passes out some sight-reading and sighs when he hands the piano part to Byna. "Even you, Anita Elisabeth? Aren't you a little old for this?" He somewhat knew her; he was in college when his Mom moved here and started teaching Byna organ lessons.

"I-I have to do it for student council," she says quietly. "And please, call me Byna- er, uh, Aerobyna."

He furrows his brow in judgment but just sighs, "Well whatever sails your ship." Before he moves on.

When Byna looks up from her stand, she sees bright, smiling gray eyes with shaggy, dirty blonde hair hanging in them. Crawley grins and goes back to looking over the music, a blush painting his cheeks.

_That is one cool girl._

* * *

The next day is Way-Back Wednesday, in which the children are supposed to dress from the past. Prim dresses like an Indian, and Skeeter dresses like someone from the Wild West. Rue wears a poodle skirt and Tanner dresses in Grease-like rebel garb from the 70's. Edward and Kelley both dress like hippies and Bonnie dresses like a flapper from the 20's; Locke dresses in the red and white-striped suit of a barbershop-quartet singer.

Rory and Posy dress futuristically for their anti-spirit week, and Jason refused to twin with Locke's "ridiculous" barbershop outfit. (Somehow, though, Locke _still _looks pretty good!)

Byna wears a polka-dot dress that is seemingly straight from the 1940's, Crawley wears a suit and a fedora from the 50's. Today, Mr. Fellington doesn't even ask what they're dressed as, and doesn't say a word throughout rehearsal.

Thursday is spirit day, and some people, like Crawley, wear the Panem colors: purple, green, and black, and even paint their faces in honor of the event. Today even Jason and the others that have refused spirit week decide to participate. The Panem spirit is high, in all except for Rory, who jokingly wears blue-gray, gold, and white, the Captiol Academy colors, and Posy, who wears red, white, and blue for Liberty High.

Mr. Fellington sulks as his face is painted by Mr. Everdeen. Soon glitter and paint are passed around, and everyone has Panem colors on their faces except for the anti-Spirit-week kids. Byna puts up a hand when Crawley offers his paint to her, and he shrugs a little. "Oh, okay… But I will paint your face tomorrow night!"

She sighs quietly. Really, Byna would like to paint her face, but if her parents saw, they would surely have a fit. After all, that dress she wore the previous day is something her parents still urge her to wear today. Even Mr. Fellington groans and stares at his black and green cheeks in the mirror, grumbling about how his Mom would be _so _disappointed and upset…

* * *

That Friday is a teacher-inservice day, which means that the kids don't have to go to school but the teachers have to go attend meetings and such. Student council has to show up and decorate the stadium for the football game that would be going on that evening.

Soon, the time for the game arrives, and the band meets in the auditorium to prepare.

Byna pulls her ponytail through her hat just as Crawley appears, holding those little containers of colorful paint. He has three streaks already painted on his cheeks, and he holds them out to her with a smile. "Do it!"

"Crawley, thanks for the offer, but I'm really okay."

"Aw, come on. Please? For me?" he tries the big gray puppy eyes, but Byna is stronger than she looks. She shakes her head, not wanting to be yelled at by her parents.

"Just a purple streak? We're drum majors, it's our job to be exciting! Maybe green? Some black?"

She wearily looks at the green paint, wondering if maybe that wouldn't stain. She quickly shakes her head as the third drum major, Cutter, skips over, his cheeks smudged with black sparkles that had to have come from a dancer.

"Hey guys!" he sings, a smile on his face, "Aren't you excited!?"

"Yeah!" Crawley chirps back, and Byna smiles slightly and nods. She's still not as comfortable around Cutter as she is around Crawley, but a light blush spread across her cheeks at the thought.

"Byna needs to paint her face!" Crawley says, jumping up and down at the excitement.

"Yeah!" Cutter says quickly.

"Uh, I don't know…" Byna mumbles.

Crawley suddenly lights up with an idea. An idea that involves the dance that would be happen tomorrow night…

"Hey, I'm going to be right back!" he says, to which the others shrug. He stands in front of the band in the auditorium and gets their attention. When the room silences, he starts in a whisper. "Hey, guys, I'm going to ask Byna to homecoming, and I want to do it when we're singing Hey Baby. So, if you could all do me a favor and sing a teeny bit quieter, that'd be way cool!"

Everyone exchanges a look, the auditorium soon erupting into chaotic happy shouting. Rebecca squeals and exchanges a hyper glance with Miranda, who is sitting across the auditorium. Everyone is full of excited energy for the events of the night, as Crawley goes back to the others.

Rebecca is the first to suggest that everyone stop playing and singing completely so that everyone could hear Crawley sing. It spreads like wildfire, and soon everyone agrees that they're going to give the Archer boy his big solo.

Soon, they're all shooed off to march up to the football stadium.

* * *

Tanner drives to the stadium by himself, humming happily as he pulls the Panem sweatshirt over his shoulders. From the corner or his eye he sees someone very familiar, so he stops and rolls down the window.

"Hey Hoffsteader," he says, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smirk-like smile, "What're you doing by yourself?"  
Ben stares, his mouth turning into a half-scowl. "I-I could ask you the same question!"

"I'm going to the football game." He unlocks the car door, "Hop in."

Ben hesitates, but then he slides in the car. "Fine."

"Good, so it's a date."

"Date!?" Ben splutters, as Tanner gets back to driving.

"You were the one that got in the car," Tanner shrugs.

"But you never asked me if it'd be a date!"

"Fine. Ben, wanna go on a date?" Tanner stops at a stoplight and looks over at Ben, laughter dancing in his eyes.

"Yes," mutters Ben.

Tanner laughs out loud, "Good."

A blush paints across Ben's cheeks at Tanner's amusement. "Shut up."

Tanner laughs some more before he realizes: "People are going to see us together." His stomach flops.

"So what?"

"You really don't care?"

"They're all gonna know sometime. Might as well give 'em something to talk about."

"Even Skeeter and Jason?"

Ben thinks for a second before his face sets determinedly. "Even Rothman and Gutterball."

* * *

The air makes Byna's ponytail sway a little bit and sends a chill up Crawley's spine as the band marches up to the stadium. She surrendered to two small streaks of green face paint across her cheeks. The more Crawley thinks of this... Very... Public invitation to the dance, the more he doubts it's good idea.  
_Too late now_, he thinks, taking a little breath of the chilly air and getting lost in the percussion cadence once again.

The group arrives at the stadium and takes their spots for the pre-game show. Byna stands tall on the center podium, Crawley to her left and Cutter to her right.

After the Star-Spangled Banner and the Panem High Alma Mater, the band plays the school's fight song as the football team, including Marvel, take the field. The crowd, which contains Poppy, Rory and Posy, Edward, and Rue and Skeeter, erupts into loud applause and shouting. Ben and Tanner come in late, sitting next to Rue and Skeeter.

"Tanner!" Rue says with a smile. She glances past him, smiling at Ben too. "Hi Ben."

"Hey," he mumbles. He exchanges a wary look with Skeeter before sitting. Tanner smiles like a little taking Ben's hand and chirping out, "We're on a date!"

This gets Skeeter's attention. "Excuse me!?" He asks, blinking in shock.

"Uh, yeah," Ben mumbles embarrassedly.

Skeeter stares at them, dumbfounded. He honestly didn't think Tanner would get that far.

"Be careful with him," Skeeter says warningly, turning back to the game.

"Don't worry," Tanner says, sitting next to Ben and taking his hand. "I have all the faith in the world."

* * *

The band, meanwhile, jams out to songs and cadences all night long, having a blast. Crawley keeps his eyes on Byna and looking away when she looks over over at him.

After the second quarter, they perform their halftime show and then watch as Liberty High does their show. Locke and Jason excitedly see familiar faces, and even Byna lights up at seeing people she knows.

After halftime, Liberty High sends over a group of seniors to visit with the Panem band, and Byna catches up with some old friends with Liberty. Cutter spends his time helplessly glancing at the other Panem seniors, trying to get away from one of Liberty's drum majors, a towering boy with piercing silver eyes. Crawley talks with the other drum major, a short girl named Chicory, when suddenly the moment arrives.

"Playing Hey Baby at the quarter!" Their teacher announces.

Crawley's swears inside his head as the drum majors scurry to their podiums. The other seniors and those from Liberty keep talking as everyone gets their instruments ready and the clock hits zero.

Byna counts it off in her large drum major voice and the tubas and low brass start playing their part.

And as everyone is supposed to sing, Crawley loudest of them all, the entire band stops.

And watches.

Crawley's so nervous and in his zone that he doesn't even notice the silence until he notices the frantic look on Byna's face.

_OhmyGod they all just stopped playing!_ She thinks, finally blinking at Crawley, who's still belting at the top of his lungs:  
"Heeeeeyyyyyy, hey Byna!  
I wanna knooooooooowwww,  
If you'll be my homecomingdate!"

So he tried to replace a one-syllable word with one that has four syllables. It's Crawley.

He sings it a second time, and that's when Byna actually picks up on the words.  
"Heeeeeyyyyyy, hey Byna!  
I wanna knooooooooowwww,  
If you'll be my homecomingdate!"

The rest of the band starts playing again after that, or, well, the ones that weren't laughing their asses off.

Byna didn't really know what to do except for just keep conducting through to the end of he song.

After the final note, the whole band erupts into giggles and shouting.

"Nice to see you using your voice somewhere that isn't the shower!" Shouts Rebecca. The tenor saxophones surrounding her burst into laughter.

"You should join glee club, Crawley!" Kelley shouts, and the senior blushes hard and looks at the floor. Everyone watches Byna and she looks shell-shocked.

"Well?" Crawley smiles up at her, his eyes twinkling with curiosity and suspense, "Will you go to homecoming with me?"

She blinks, not sure what to do or what to say. _Well, my parents are forcing me to go, and I would like to have someone there too, I guess… _Barely even noticing the entire band and seniors of Liberty staring at her, Byna nods.

The band erupts into cheers, and the Liberty seniors burst into laughter.

* * *

After a valiant effort by Liberty High, Panem wins the football game 21-17. The band marches back to the school wearing their hats on backwards in celebration. Then everyone packs up and waits outside for their parents.

Byna washes off her face in the bathroom and looks relieved to see that the green paint didn't stain her cheeks with color. Then she grabs her stuff, says goodbye to Cutter, and starts out the door when suddenly she feels a hand on her shoulder.

She gasps, startled, as Crawley flips the hair out of his eyes and laughs, "Oh, sorry 'bout that!" Ever since Hey Baby, he's been in a pretty great mood.

"It's… It's okay…" she says quietly.

"Anyways," he says, "I wanted to talk to you for a sec. Are your parents coming to get you?"

Byna shakes her head, "No, they're not."

"Good, then we can chat."

"About?"

"Homecoming. The dance."

She blinks at him, "What about it?"

"Well… I dunno. I mean, when do you want me to pick you up, what colors you may be considering wearing so I can get a tie to match…"

"We're going to match?"

"Well we're going together, aren't we?" he deflates a little bit, realizing she may've only said yes so that he wasn't humiliated in front of everyone.

"Yeah, we are…"

"Then we'll match. After all, dates usually do match going to dances."

Byna looks over, blinking and still not really getting it. "Huh?"

Crawley swears inside his head. He should've made his intent clearer… He sighs a little. "Uh, well…" he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, "Look, let me say this… I really like you, Byn… Like, more than friends kind of way. And, uh, well, I wanted to know if you'd be me date to the dance. And maybe then my girlfriend."

She looks over, eyes flickering up and looking at his face. "Oh…" she gets it now. "I like you too, really… But… My parents would kill me if I were to get a boyfriend." She doesn't want to reject him, she really doesn't want to say no, but Byna is rational and smart enough to know that she has to.

"I'm so sorry…" she says, in a little whisper. "I really do like you, so much, but I can't risk getting in trouble with my parents… If they heard I had a _boyfriend_… They'd kill me."

"Then…" he thought, gradually growing more and more upset before having an idea. "What if… What if we're not boyfriend and girlfriend? What if… We're more than friends, but not officially titled…? Would you be up for that?"

She stares at his expression, debating it.

"Uh… Like what?"

"Like, well… We could call it… _Friends with benefits_."

"Benefits? Like what?" she asks, confused.

"Like…" he isn't sure what words he could say that would convey the meaning. "Like…" He takes a step closer and soon his warm lips are pressed against hers. She kisses back, and the kiss is over much before either of them would've liked. He pulls back and gives her a little nod before walking away and mumbling, "Think about it."

He walks away awkwardly to his car, where Miranda and Rebecca are waiting for him. He makes small-talk with his sisters, though his mind is still stuck on his talk with Byna.

Anita Elisabeth walks home by herself that night, still unsure what to think.

Both of them would like to have the weekend to think through this, but they have to see each other again the very next night at the dance.


	4. Chapter 4: Halloweentime and Panem High

**Chapter 4: Halloweentime and Panem High**

The town of Panem is covered in a thick layer of nightly darkness even though it's the morning. The moon isn't quite full… But it will be the next night.

The wind whips past Tanner Cooper's face.

Pairs of glowing red eyes appear from behind bushes, rocks, and trees.

Something howls.

Someone screams.

This is Tanner's second Halloween at Panem High, but this year he's got nothing to worry about. Last year, as a junior, he was bitten by a vampire and then kissed by one who wields the power of dark magic. He's one of them now.

He pushes the door open and walks inside the dark high school. He waves hello to Rue and Skeeter, who hold hands and laugh at sticking their hands through the walls and their lockers. He pats Edward's head and scratches Locke behind the ears on his way to his locker. Locke makes a blissfully happy whimpering noise he immediately regrets and turns in towards his locker to hide the blush of embarrassment.

Tanner waves to Headless Jason Hollow, who gives what appears to be an attempt at a nod in greeting. Jason then realizes he doesn't have a head to nod with and, with a loud swear word, goes to some corner to sulk.

He puts his books in his locker: he won't be needing any of _those _books today. Instead he gets the magic books and guides to being a vampire out of his locker, puts them in his pack, and shuts it.

He walks to homeroom before, in a flash, Ben has him pinned.

"Happy Dead Day, Cooper," Ben says, smiling.

"It seems like just yesterday you tried to suck me dry," Tanner says, half-teasingly.

"Yeah… Sorry."

"Eh. No big deal. I got kissed by a ringmaster, after all… Which means that I'm taking magic classes."

Ben makes a face. "You'd better not get a dumb scepter like that guy."

Tanner laughs, "Well now I hope I do!"

Ben rolls his eyes but a small smile plays on his lips. "Of course you do." He touches his lips to Tanner's before nodding a little, "I'll talk to you later."

And just like that, he's gone.

Tanner keeps on his way to class, smiling a little bit. This is a good time of year.

~.~.

Byna, however, well, she has a little bit of a different situation.

She never liked Halloween. It's the same day as her birthday, and she can't say she's a big fan of the attention it brings her both in school and at home. She lived through it back at Liberty by the prospect of monster hunting: though her parents kept a close watch on her during the holiday, during the school day sometimes she'd manage to injure a werewolf and knock a vampire or two out cold.

Yeah, Byna liked monster hunting before, but now she's surrounding by hungry-looking red eyes and weapon-less. It's hard for her to not look afraid… _Where are all the other humans!? _

She walks to her locker, hanging her head down so no one could see her all-too-human eyes. She reeks to them of human, though, and gets a good share of hungry looks from the assorted monsters that wander the halls. She pulls some books out of her locker, taking a particularly heavy one just in case she might have to throw it at someone.

These are her friends, but she wants to survive, too… _Why have I been so overwhelmed with tough decisions lately!? _she groans.

Suddenly, she sees a figure pop out from a doorway. Startled, she lets out a little squeak despite herself. This is something you'd definitely see in the horror movies. Light brown hair shagged over her face that touches her feet, dislocated joints, dark eyes, stitched body parts… Byna almost has to look away.

"Hi there Byna!" Rebecca says, her face, which was already doll-like to begin with, looking a lot more doll-like: but in a creepy kind of way.

"H-Hey," she says quietly. Byna can't help but notice how much the freshman reeks like Crawley. N-Not that Byna knew what Crawley smells like, no, it's just… It's… Ah, forget it!

Rebecca grabs Byna's arm and drags her into a closet. Byna is too taken by surprise to fight back, staring at the freshman with wide eyes.

"Byna, I'm not really a monster." The freshman giggles, "Cliff can't resist temptation, so I dress up like one. But I'm not really, honest."

The senior keeps her eyes on the freshman, a little amazed. "Cliff?" she asks.

"Yeah, Cliff. Older brother. He graduated already, but you see… Well, if you're a monster you're doomed to coming back here every Halloween. Can't have a bloodthirsty beast running around at college…"

"Oh…" Byna says, still having some trouble processing all this.

"My three older brothers think I've been this way since birth, idiots," Byna can't help but feel a little offended on Crawley's behalf, "But the jokes on them. Apparently I can just do a really convincing paint job."

"It's very convincing."

"Thanks! Just a warning, you might want to be careful if you don't want to get bit. I wish I had weapons…"

"Wow, you're a true Liberty kid." Byna finds her voice again when the initial shock fades.

"Yeah, but I don't want to kill anyone. I'm friends with these people. I just want to sedate them or make them loopy. I don't trust devout monster hunters, though. They probably wouldn't trust me either…"

"But couldn't you prove that it's all make-up and contacts?"

"I could, but I still reek like monster. It's because I'm wearing a pair of Crawley's boxers that haven't been washed in a long time." She quickly adds, "Because he's been meaning to throw them out! No, no, he washes the underwear he wears, I think." So much for being a "wing-man" like she said she would. Rebecca pulls up the shirt she's wearing and gestures to the heart-printed boxers. "They really reek."

"Yeah, they do," Byna agrees. A smile spreads across her face as she wonders how often exactly Crawley wears heart-printed boxers.

"Well, anyways, if you need me, I'll be around. I could help you too if you wanted."

"No thanks." The thought of even pretending to be a creature of the night was sickening to the past Liberty student.

"Whatever floats your boat," Rebecca shrugs, then winks. "Good luck."

She slips out of the room and Byna follows.

As soon as Byna exits the room, a whoosh of wind gushes past, and suddenly red eyes that look familiar smile down at her. "Good morning," Crawley says sweetly.

"C-Crawley."

He flashes her a toothy smile, flashing his fangs. "How are you?"

"I'm okay…" she looks around for a witness just in case. He seems to be inching closer to her with each coming second.

"Good. Well, you smell great."

"You reek," she deadpanned, taking a step back.

Crawley laughs and keeps coming closer. Byna keeps stepping away, though part of her doesn't want to be so far away.

"Hey," Crawley laughs, "This is like Twilight, but a lot less nauseating!"

Byna rolls her eyes, holding up the heavy book. "I will use this. Keep in mind I was a good monster hunter back home."

"You wouldn't do that to me," Crawley says with a little hungry hiss.

Byna smacks him across the head with her book, hard, and he's knocked out cold. Byna smiles a little, knowing she's still got it. "Actually," she says to the knocked out boy, "Yes I would."

Feeling pleased with herself, Byna has to step over the body to walk to class.

~.~.

Prim flutters through the hall, a smile on her face.

Her eyes are light, rosy pink and they convey her radiant calm happiness.

Prim is an angel.

She goes back and forth between fluttering around using her white, feathery wings and walking on her sandaled feet. Her blonde hair, practically shining like gold, swishes behind her. Her radiant beauty is practically unarguable, her laughter rings like bells, and she brings an aura of calmness and warmth wherever she goes.

She has a small field of light surrounding her in the depths of the dark high school.

Rory, however, is the complete opposite.

Sharp teeth, black skin with ugly reddish welts, completely blacked-out eyes…

A king of the darkness, a demon, possibly a glance at the face of Satan himself.

Though the couple agreed to avoid each other, it's inevitable that the two worlds crash together considering their shared 3rd period study hall.

Prim sits far away from her boyfriend, but her lingering innocence and grace are tempting to Rory: too tempting.

The demon lingers nearer and hearer to the angel, who can feel his dark presence coming closer.

Finally, she has to turn around. Rory's blood-red eyes glow. "Good morning, sweet…" he hisses.

"Hello," Prim says curtly, looking away.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, hungry eyes drilling through her.

Prim sighs a little, trying to stay proper, "I'm okay."

"You'd make a pretty little angel of darkness," he says quietly.

Prim finally turns back around to look at him.

"I'm a good girl," she says matter-of-factly, "Not a rule-breaker."

"Well you _would _be learning from the best."

"Trust me, I know that…" She turns around, trying to resist the temptation.

"Come on, Primrose. Being good is for losers."

She scoffs a little, smiling despite herself. "Back a long time ago, Eve gave into temptation and through that she screwed over humanity."

"Yeah, but Satan was an angel once, too…" Rory takes a seat beside her, smiling. "You should just kiss me already…" he whispers, that hungry smile never faltering.

"And angel's kiss can be purifying," says Prim.

"Well, aren't you curious at all what would happen!? Who's aura is stronger!?"

"I don't want to be damned to hell," Prim says, writing furiously in her notebook and trying to shoo him away.

"If you're a creature of the dark, though, you wouldn't mind." He has a convincing argument.

_Which would be stronger? _Prim thinks, _The power of my purity of that of his darkness? _

She shakes off the thought stubbornly. She likes herself how she is, and that's final.

Well… Maybe…

Curiosity may've killed the cat, but discovery brought it back to life, right?

When he leans in, she doesn't fight it.

The second their lips touch, both Rory and Prim feel strong energy, and the kiss doesn't last very long before both of them are blasted backwards by a huge force. Prim hits the wall and the air is knocked out of her, while Rory actually touches the ceiling.

Splotchy black spots cover Prim's wings and black streaks her hair, though she gradually gets her angel aura back and becomes pure again. Rory, who's fangs had gone and skin had lightened to a more radiant color, eventually restores to his own self, too, but not before Prim saw a glance of one of his eyes, which had turned gold.

Prim and Rory exchange a look and burst out laughing.

~.~.

Seventh period rolls around and the glee club bounces excitedly to the choir room. Last year at this time, they had met Mr. K., their first student teacher. Maybe Mr. Fellington can prove his worth today.

Byna slides into a seat behind the piano. Protected by the large black instrument, she keeps her heavy textbook beside her. Hey, it's already saved her life once.

Crawley walks into the room, a big red bump on his head. Byna snickers to herself from behind the piano. Luckily for Crawley, nobody asks about it.

Prim, still in a bit of a daze from what happened with Rory, sits in the back. Bonnie, a fortune-teller, and Posy, a spider-girl, sit with her.

Rue and Skeeter sit in the middle row together. Tanner along with Marvel, a scarecrow, sit with Edward.

Kelley stumbles around the room, moaning in a thick Irish accent for brains.

Locke and Jason sit with Crawley and the rest of the pit. Both of them get out their instruments, though the band kids glance at headless Jason, confused on how he intends to play a trumpet with no head. When he starts to warm up, everyone's amazed.

"How'd you do that!?" Locke asks, swatting the open air where Jason's head should be.

"I... I don't know..." Says Jason. It's decided that it's just the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Crawley takes out his instrument as well, though his head is still hurting a little from being hit.

In the back sit the two freshman, both humans.

_Freshman?_ Today, it's literally more like fresh meat.

Somehow, both of them survived the whole school day as humans. Like Byna, their defenses have been worse than expected for the hungry monsters.

However, in such a small space with so few people, the girls barely stand a chance. No teacher is in the room, and so the fight for the bite begins.

Vampires (Crawley and Tanner) versus werewolves (Locke and Edward), and Kelley the lone zombie challenges them on his own.

Posy looks over, asking Bonnie, "What do you see?" Maybe she wants to join in the fight...

Bonnie just blinks. "Th...that can't be right..."

"What?"

Bonnie shakes her head.

The battle starts quite suddenly.

"ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS, SHOOT!" Kelley's arm goes flying and he shouts, "SHIT!"

The arm has its hand in a tight fist, Crawley does paper, and Locke does scissors.

They all groan, seeing as there was no winner.

"ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS- SHIT!" Kelley's wrist falls off his arm in a paper position.

Unfortunately, Edward and Tanner both did paper, too.

"Oh, come on!" Crawley shouts, and the others (excluding the freshmen) laugh.

They take a while to finally decide.

Rue and Skeeter wonder why they don't just add Byna to the deal and each get one.

It's because they're stupid.

Finally, Kelley (after losing a finger and his other arm) loses as a rock to two papers.

"Maybe next year," Edward says, smirking victoriously and patting his brother's head, "But hopefully you get bit by something else before then..." Glancing around hopefully, Edward sighs when there aren't any takers. Kelley's good at getting brains, as proven last year when he got a monster hunter from Liberty.

Tanner and Locke are sent after the two freshmen, who sit in their corner with wide eyes.

Byna jumps up to stop the attackers, but it's too late for Priscilla, who's pounced on by a very apologetic (but very satisfied) Locke.

Tanner throws Ashley against a wall and grins, but before he can bite, flashes of orange light escape from the freshman's hands, blowing Tanner backwards and causing him to hit the wall hard.

A scepter that glows orange and sports a dying black tree on the inside appears in her fist and her maroon eyes flicker orange before glowing red.

Tanner is knocked out cold from hitting the wall, and everyone glances back and forth between him and the freshman, besides Bonnie, who looks somewhat unsurprised.

"How'd you do that!?" Skeeter asks.  
Ashley gazes into the crystal of her scepter, wide-eyed.

"Just like Arrow..." She whispers.

_He was someone that was really nice to her back in the orphanage. Besides Priscilla, her best friend. Halloween after Halloween, he showed off tidbits of the dark magic he could do, sparkles that came from his fingertips, hypnosis, conjuring up the scepter... All while she watched, longing to do things as cool as that. He'd always explained how he did these things, but she had no clue she could use them... Not until now. Staring into the orange scepter with the dying tree inside, all she can feel is a strong power within her. She just has to learn how to harness it..._

She decides she'll go looking for Arrow as soon as glee club ends.

Edward sews Kelley's arms, hands, and finger back on and Marvel wakes Tanner up as their student teacher enters the room.

As he enters, Rue sings "This Is Halloween" under her breath. It doesn't take long for the others to happily join in. Even the pit takes to singing, trying to figure out the notes, though everyone's quickly hushed by Mr. Fellington. The kids quiet, noticing his still-green eyes. Edward has to hold Kelley back from attacking.

"I've always heard Halloween's taken seriously here..." He grumbles, "But this is ridiculous. It's so dark in this school..."

"Well yeah," Marvel says simply, "The vampires threatened to suck the principal dry if he didn't at least dim the lights."

Mr. F. glares at him. "There are no such thing as vampires. No such thing as monsters. You all know that."

There's a second of silence. Then the entire club bursts out laughing.

"You can't be serious!" Crawley says above the laughter.

"What do you think we are?" Asks Skeeter.

"BRAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINS!" shouts Kelley.

"Stop being so crazy!" Their student teacher roars. The kids go quiet, thinking how scary this guy is and he's a human!

"You may have good costumes, but stop acting like children. We aren't in elementary school. You're human high school students, act like it."

The kids try not to smile.

"But Mr. Fellington, we really are monsters!" Rue tries. Mr. F. glares at them.

"Cut it out!" he says. He gestures to Byna, "Just look here at Anita Elisabeth." Crawley smiles lovingly but the mentioned girl blushes out of her dislike for attention. Me. Fellington continues, "At least someone in this room can act sane."

"It's because she's the only human in here!" Tanner says, "Besides you!"

Everyone nods quickly. The college kid looks like he might explode. Nobody really wanted to see that...

Suddenly, the door bursts open. Standing in the doorway is a man with an unnatural amount of hair on his arms, stubble, a stitched-on hand, bolts on his head, and red eyes striped with blue-gray. On his chest, in a little backpack-like harness, is a little jack-o-lantern baby with twinkling eyes and a little vegetable body.

"Mr. K!" The students couldn't be more relieved.

"Hey guys!" He greets with a smile, the little jack-o-lantern baby waving his chubby gourd arms.

The mutt, as he's been tagged, walks over and puts a hand on Mr. F.'s shoulder. "Drake, buddy, how's Panem treating you!?"

Their student teacher looks over and groans. "Oh God, not you too! Stuffing your human baby into a pumpkin... God..."

"Well, he's a spirit. Since Mario's a vampire and I only go ghostly when I sneeze, we decided to veggie him up." The kids laugh, Mr. F. scowls.

"Hey Mr. K.," Locke says, "There's a freshman here that's been bit and needs your help!"

The young man nods, "I'm on it," and goes to make a potion.

"This is nonsense," Drake grumbles, shaking his head.

Priscilla wakes up soon and the father and son take a seat and watch Drake, their old friend, intently.

"Alright, anyways, we're doing a real lesson today. And we're _not _singing any festive songs."

The club groans, "Aw, come on!"

He shakes his head, "There's. No. Such. Thing. As. MONSTERS!" he shouts, but just as the last syllable leaves his mouth Rue gasps and a spear glowing purple flies through Mr. Fellington's chest. He lets out a startled scream and collapses to his knees, bleeding badly. Mr. K. jumps up to help him, running over and starting to make a potion. Even jack-o-lantern baby Dutch senses the tension.

As was the big drama last year, ghosts are harder to get from humans from monsters. The rest of the kids stare, terrified, at the dying body, collapsing on the ground with Mr. K.'s hand gently on his back. Soon their previous student teacher gets their current student teacher to drink an orange liquid before Drake passes out.

"What happened!?" squeaks out Prim. The room erupts into conversation.

"GUYS!" Rue shouts over them. Everyone stares at her.

"I-It was a ghost…" Rue says, stuttering, "A ghost but I didn't see who."

Mr. K. picks up a note from the spear and reads. "It says… Happy Halloween, Drake…" before he starts to laugh. Little chuckles bubble from his lips as he nods. "Guys, I wouldn't worry about the murderer."

"Huh?"

"It's just… a friend." He smiles mischievously as the little note and says, "Don't worry."

"Okay…" everyone says just as a pale spirit rises from Drake's body. The ghost wears a pirate hat, and scowls. "What happened? You knock me out?"

"You're a ghost now! Don't you believe us?!"

"No!" he says, "There's no such thing as ghosts!"

"Your dead body's on the ground!" Marvel says.

"BRAINS!" shouts Kelley.

"Just a dummy," he says stubbornly.

"There's no such thing as Halloween monst-" Suddenly Platinum picks up the spear again and whips it right at him. The weapon goes through Drake's torso and hits the wall straight-on.

The specter's eyes go wide as he stares at the spear, and in that moment he accepts that Panem at Halloweentime is very… different.

~.~.

That night, Byna's parents invite her friends over for a surprise birthday party. Having a Halloween birthday isn't something great for her.

Crawley, who's out of gift ideas, just puts a box on his head and plans to make her a vampire for her birthday.

Locke has a bow on his head and starts to transform as the sky gets darker and darker.

Byna arrives home, entering to a dark room and clicking on the lights. Everyone jumps out from their spots, "SURPRISE!"

The girl, caught off-guard, screams and puts up her book in defense.

Everyone laughs loudly as she stares at them, trying to figure out the scene in front of her.

"Happy birthday!" says Cutter.

"G…Guys…" Byna stammers out, "Wow…"

Her parents beam, though trying to hide their distaste of everyone's so casual clothing.

They all take a seat at the table and have dinner together. Though Byna's parents try to hold a proper conversation, soon a lot of talking and laughing erupts and spreads throughout the table.

The monsters eye Byna hungrily, but she gives them a fierce warning look that makes Locke whimper a little.

After dinner, the parents go upstairs and the kids all give Byna their presents.

Crawley sits in the pile with the box over his head, waiting to strike as soon as she takes the box off his head. Locke sits next to him, a bow on his head. Byna opens the normal gifts first, thanking everyone with a smile. She doesn't like the attention, true, but this isn't half-bad, really.

Then she gets to Locke. "I always wanted a puppy," she says, cruel teasing in her voice. She takes a string and wraps it around Locke's neck, "Sit in the corner. Now."

Whimpering and clearly afraid of the fierce, threatening look in Byna's eyes, Locke goes there, muttering _sorry Byna_'s under his breath.

Then she gets to the last one. She takes the box off of Crawley's head and as soon as he sees the light of day (though dim), she turns the lights on the whole way and smacks him again with the book, causing him to screech and stumble backwards.

Byna laughs a little bit and dims the lights again, skipping off to the kitchen to get some garlic to keep by her side for the rest of the night.

Later, they turn off the lights completely and watch a movie, Byna holding the garlic open to keep Crawley away, Locke whimpering in the corner. Byna, who had just had a long week at school and a long day fighting off monsters, can't make it the entire way through, and slowly falls asleep…

~.~.

Edward could feel the transformation coming on.

His already hairy body was growing harrier, he could feel his muscles beefing up, claws replaced hands…

He takes off in a run and goes to the forest, the only place he feels safe going when he's in beast-mode.

He keeps going, his clothes ripping off, his instincts becoming more and more beastly.

Suddenly he sees a girl in a long black jacket, armed with every weapon known to man. She pulls out a gun, and he knows it contains a silver bullet there just for him. He takes off on all-fours away from there, the trees blurring past him. He could hear footsteps behind him, but kept running.

Alright, so it probably didn't help that Edward's been flirting with the alpha monster hunter from Liberty High.

Edward keeps running, knowing that she will not hesitate to kill him right now, considering he's a monster now, not a boy.

He keeps going, a bullet grazing past and hitting his side, sending pain searing up, but he keeps going. He runs until he's a full beast, fighting the instinct he has to attack her. She's strong, ready to kill, but Edward's definitely weaker.

He only wants to attack her if he has to do it to stay alive. He runs until the footsteps stop behind him and he hears Artelind's technological voice (she's mute) yell out, "I'LL GET YOU NEXT YEAR FILTHY BEAST" in a mysteriously monotone voice.

Edward stops, bleeding. He knows he was lucky to get out alive this year against such a skillful assassin of his kind…

This is wrong, this is awful, this is the worst thing that he should be doing…

But, that's a problem for next year…


	5. Chapter 5: The Inevitable

_**A/N: This chapter's kind of short so sorry about that... I'm in a real rut but at least it's something...**_

**Chapter 5: The Inevitable**

Byna's eyes flicker open at the end of the movie she doesn't remember the beginning or middle of. She's pressed against a familiar-smelling boy with a heavy arm around her back.

_What exactly happened today?_ She isn't really sure.

She yawns and sits up, hoping her parents didn't see anything. Surely they didn't, considering she wasn't awakened to any screaming.

She looks up at Crawley's face, her first thought being that he really needs to shave. Upon the girl under his arm shifting, Crawley smiles down at her. "Morning," he whispers, smiling.

"Hello," she says, still unsure what exactly's been going on.

"How are you feeling?"

"Uh, fine?" It comes out as a bit of a question, "Uh, what happened, exactly?"

"Happened when?"

"Oh, just… Start from this morning…" Memories were coming up fuzzy, for some reason…

"Well, this morning-"

"I talked to you this morning," Rebecca says, "About our odd family of odd people. Our big brother Cliff, who's kind of really rude and grouchy, and our oldest brother Dill, who's protective but at least a little bit rational. And maybe I mentioned something about Crawley's heart underwear." The group of high schoolers that are still awake giggle quietly.

Crawley blushes, "Oh, stop it, all of you."

Byna giggles, "Oh, yeah, I do remember that."

"Becky…" growls an embarrassed Crawley, but his freshman sister just giggles happily.

"Oh, relax," says Byna, "It's-" she stops. She wanted to say, _cute, _but she isn't really sure about that… "Uh, it's… Funny." _Nice save_, she thinks sarcastically.

"Right…" Crawley says awkwardly before moving on, "Then, you and I talked a little bit. I brought out the terrible pick-up lines and you threatened to hit me. So, I shut up and later, you accidentally did hit me with your backpack."

"Oh yeah…" How odd this is…. Her memories seem to have switched from whatever really happened to that same thing with monsters… She decides the whole monster thing was just a dream she had that was so realistic that memories have been replaced in her tired brain.

"So, anyways… What else?"

"Prim and Rory realized how different they are in terms of what they can get away with. Rory's always been a trouble-maker, and Prim's so nice… Like an angel, a little bit."

The irony almost hurts. Byna nods. "And?"

"We didn't see you again until seventh period. Mr. Fellington thought all our costumes were weird and he used you as an example of a "normal person."

"But our student teacher Mr. K. came back to see us, with his baby, so that was good!"

"That's right, I remember seeing him now," she nods. Things start to come together.

"Jason showed everyone his new plastic mouthpiece. We were amazed he could play his trumpet with it!"

"Those are pretty cool," says Byna, smiling. She starts to remember everything now, light-headed and confused from her dream as compared to reality.

"Mr. Fellington, the grumpiest student teacher alive, got a note saying _Happy Halloween, Drake _from someone he and Mr. K. seemed to know but nobody else did…"

"Oh, yeah, that's right…"

"And later, your parents threw you a surprise birthday party in an attempt to be cool and modern, so we surprised you!"

"I brought you stuffed puppy for your birthday with a bow," says Locke, "I thought it was a grossly stereotypical gift but the other guys promised that it'd be a good idea so I did."

"I got you myself!" Crawley pipes up, "Well, actually, my_ services! _I got you a coupon book!"

Byna puts a hand in her pocket, pulling out the book full of random coupons. "Oh yeah, that's right…" she looks through the coupons, most of which are completely ridiculous and a mix of sickeningly fluffy kissy things and things that will obviously not happen.

"And then, we watched a movie, and your parents went to bed, and you dozed off, being all snuggly and cute!"

"It was gross," Miranda says. Everyone laughs.

"You're so cute and snuggly," says Crawley affectionately. Byna blushes and stares at the couch embarrassedly.

The credits start to roll and soon, everyone says goodbye and starts on their way home. Crawley and his sisters are the last ones there. The sisters go out to Crawley's car, leaving him and Byna alone.

"Happy birthday," he says, the two sharing an awkward hug that soon becomes slightly less awkward and more comfortable.

"Thanks," Byna says quietly.

They stand in an awkward silence, her laying her head on his chest. Crawley kisses her forehead and whispers, "See you later."

"See ya," she says weakly. After that, she loses his warm touch, and he goes out the door to drive his sisters home.

_What a day, _Byna thinks, going upstairs to shower before getting to bed, _What kind of twisted memories…? _

_Ah, screw it. It was probably just a crazy-realistic dream. _

~.~.

The band lines up on a beautiful day in November for the annual Veteran's Day Parade. It's a big deal for the Panemites, especially Marvel, whose uncle Gloss had enlisted in the military last year at this time.

The band gathers and lines up on the street and talks in little clusters. Byna avoids Crawley, still confused on how she feels and what's going on.

Locke and Jason stand together and talk with Rebecca and some of the other trumpets and saxophones. The others chat amongst themselves until it's close to performance time.

Meanwhile, Rue and Skeeter walk hand-in-hand down the street, waving to Tanner but keeping on moving past Ben. They stop when they see Marvel by himself, seeing as Edward went off to spend the morning with Artelind from Liberty High.

"Marvel!" Rue says, walking over.

He looks up, seeming out of it. "Hey." He tries not to look nervous or worried, but he is.

"How are you?" asks Rue. It's easy to notice the doubt in Marvel's voice, and they both know it.

"Fine." Rue and Skeeter aren't really buying it.

"What's up with you?" asks Skeeter, concerned, "You can talk to us."

"I said I'm fine." He stares at the parade coming past, his face looking distant.

"Marvel-"

"Shut up, kid, it's just been one of those weeks!" he snaps. Rue is about to speak again but Skeeter shakes his head a little. Now's not the time to hound the guy.

The three stand in silence as the parade reaches a comfortable speed, when they hear a squeak and an "excuse me!" and Poppy shows up by them.

"Good morning!" she chirps happily. Marvel doesn't look at her.

"Morning, Poppy," Rue says with a small smile. Skeeter salutes a little.

"What's up?" she asks, looking concerned.

"Uh…" Rue says, confused.

"We're not sure, exactly," Skeeter says quietly.

Poppy reaches over to take Marvel's hand but he slips out of her grasp. Rue and Skeeter decide to try and give them a little bit of privacy, though they are in a public street. They watch the parade, cheering for the band, and stop to chat with Edward and Artelind.

"Do you know anything about Marvel?" asks Rue quietly.

Edward shrugs. "All I know is that he's been really odd lately… Really bitter or upset. He won't tell anyone what's up, not even Kelley. We think it's got to do with Gloss enlisting. 'T's become real to 'im these past couple weeks."

"I thought so," says Skeeter, "He's turning his fear into bitterness and anger… He's pushing everyone away… We just have to be there for him."

Rue takes Skeeter's hand and nods, bad memories coming back to both of them of the past.

"I know it firsthand," Skeeter says, "I tried to push everyone out for the longest time after my Mom died when I was a freshman… And it had almost disastrous results…" Rue saved him from suicide that year, and not much after that the two got together. Still, it's a sensitive set of memories for both of them.

"We just have to keep an eye on him until he lets us in again…" Skeeter says, "Make sure he knows he's not alone."

All of them nod.

"Well, how are you, Artelind?" asks Rue. The mute junior from Liberty High smiles a little bit, typing into the app on her phone that speaks for her: "I'm doing fine today, thank you. How about you?"

"We're okay." Skeeter nods, still out of it a bit from his worry.

"Poppy's with him," Rue says quietly, "He'll be okay."

The others nod and hope that maybe she can do something to help him.

While the others talk, Marvel and Poppy stand in awkward silence. She tries to think of something to say to help him, something he'll listen to.

"I'll always be here for you, you know."

"Shut up, I know!" he's really not in the mood to be babied.

"And it's okay to talk. It's okay to be afraid. It's okay to need help sometimes."

"Be quiet, I know all that shit! I know it!" he snaps.

"I'm just trying to help…" the more time that ticks past, the more and more hurt Poppy gets.

"Well don't! I don't need any help from anyone, especially not you!"

She stops short, tears threatening to push out of her eyes though she pushes them away. "F-Fine. I'll talk to you later." She turns away from the way Rue and Skeeter walked, and quickly walks away, trying not to cry.

Marvel watches her go and weakly calls after her once, "Poppy…" but to no avail. He knows he was being mean, but it doesn't take long before he stops caring. He leaves the parade early, just wanting to go home.

He makes it to his room and goes upstairs, sitting on his bed.

Marvel doesn't want to admit it, but he's afraid for Gloss. His Uncle is someone who, though isn't the best influence, makes him smile. Marvel really loves him and is afraid for his safety. His life is always in danger.

But, to Gloss, it's worth it. Marvel knows that, he understands that, but he's just so afraid for Gloss's life and safety. He doesn't want him to get injured, like Mason's Dad. He just… He's stressed, with school getting even harder and having to deal with so much stress… It's finally getting to him.

He's afraid, and stressed, and upset, and he never knew he didn't want Gloss to leave until it became inevitable. It's too late now. Marvel knows what he's doing is good and special, but he also can't help but feel like the frustration is just overwhelming.

He sighs and doesn't talk to anyone the rest of the day, trying to figure out how he's going to make time to have fun without his Uncle Gloss around to make it special.

_He'll be okay. _

_He's going to be okay._


	6. Chapter 6: Giving Thanks

_**A/N: Guess who failed her two-updates-a-month promise!? This girl! Don't worry, though, this is the "second November chapter" though it is no longer November. Gosh, I'm just so inspiration-less. Sorry.**_

**Chapter Six: Giving Thanks and Making Amends (Or Trying)**

"Aw, _hell_ no!" Jason jumps up, "I knew there was something you weren't telling me!"

"Well sor-_ry _I'm trying to help you!" Locke says, pulling him back down.

"What are you not telling me!?" Jason asks, scowling.

"I-"

The door opens and Tanner walks into the room, dragging a very confused Ben behind him.

"LEMME AT HIM!" Jason yells. Locke holds him back and Tanner has to restrict Ben as well. Both of them scream mean things at each other, struggling.

"We're going to make you be friends!" Locke says.

"No way!" Jason shouts.

"Never!" Ben retorts.

"Sit." Locke says, pointing to the chair. "Sit, Jason, sit." He keeps a stern look on his face and Jason eventually slumps into a seat.

"No way, I'm _not_ making up with Gutterball!" Ben says, starting on his way out of Locke's living room. Tanner grabs him by the arm, causing him to stop short.

"Ben, Locke is a good friend of mine, and you two arguing isn't helping with anything. We're not asking you to be _friends, _we just want you to not hate each other. Is that too much to ask?"

"Yes."

"Please, Ben? _Pleeeeeaaassseeeee_!?" Tanner asks, smiling sweetly and flashing him a pair of big, bright blue puppy eyes. "_Please_!? Just try?"

Ben stops in his tracks, trying so very hard to resist. "I _hate_ this guy."

"I know, but you like me, don't you? Won't you try for me?" He blinks the big puppy eyes, and Ben cracks, sitting down in in a seat, "Fine."

"Yay!" Tanner says.

"We will never be friends," Ben says.

"I hate him," Jason reminds them.

"We know," Locke groans, "But we're going to try to change that."

"Never."

"Stop talking, you two. There's no reason you hate each other except for the sake of hatred," Locke says.

"No, wrong! I hate him because he's a colossal asswad to everyone, including my friends!" Jason says.

"Well, he's not going to be a colossal asswad anymore," Tanner says.

"I think I should be the one to say that," Ben pouts.

"I don't believe it anyways," Jason growls, scowling and crossing his arms.

"I'm not going to be a colossal asswad anymore," Ben growls.

"Liar."

"Jason, be reasonable," Locke says.

"I can't be reasonable about this! Tanner, just face the fact that he's a jerk and dump him!"

"People change," Tanner says, and Locke nods in agreement.

"You really are like a guard Chihuahua, aren't you Gutterball?" muses Ben, "You're like a small, yippy guard dog that jumps around and barks at people even when nobody needs protected."

"See why I hate him!?" Jason shouts, ready to tackle him.

"Ben," Tanner scolds quietly, giving him a look.

"What? Gutterball's just so incredibly easy to harass!" Ben says, throwing up his hands.

"I thought you said you weren't going to be an asswad anymore!" Jason shouts.

"I won't be an asswad when you become less insultable!"

"Locke!" Jason protests, turning to his friend.

"Why don't we just try to be quiet and accept each other?" Locke asks, trying to bring the situation back to the topic of mediating.

"I won't just sit here and let Ben insult me!" Jason protests. He struggles to get up but Locke holds him down. "Jason, be the bigger person here," he growls, quiet enough that Ben and Tanner can't hear.

"I can't be the bigger person!" Jason mutters.

"Then let Ben be the bigger person. Fine." Locke knows that thought would make Jason tick, and he's right. Jason, making himself try to stay calm, sits still, still scowling and growling under his breath.

"Whatever," Jason pouts, crossing his arms again, "I still have my knife. And I will not hesitate to use it. You can't be suspended if it happens here."

"Jason-" Locke tries, but he's cut off by Ben, "You can still be arrested, Gutterball!"

"Stop calling me that, Asswad!"

"Don't call me Asswad!"

"You are on! Asswad!"

"Gutterball!"

"Ben-" Tanner tries, and Locke tries to console Jason, but soon it becomes a screaming match between Jason and Ben.

"ASSWAD!"

"GUTTERBALL!"

"ASSWAD!"

"GUYS!" Tanner shouts loudly, and Locke is glad he decided to gather them when the Hollow parents were both working at their butcher shop. At Tanner's exclamation, both go silent.

"I thought you were trying to make peace," Tanner says, "And this isn't helping."

"Whatever," Jason sits back down, pouting and crossing his arms again.

"Fine," mutters Ben, sitting down and scowling.

"Okay. Now, Jason, apologize to Ben for calling him Asswad," Locke says.

"Sorry," mutters Jason.

"What?" asks Ben, laughing.

"I said sorry Asswad!" Jason shouts.

Locke sighs. "That's not helping you. Do it again without the Asswad."

"I said… Sorry." Jason lets out an exasperated breath.

"Now, Ben, you apologize to Jason for calling him Gutterball," Tanner says.

"Fine," scowls Ben. "Sorry."

"What?" Jason asks smirking.

"I said sorry!" Ben says irritably.

"There, okay, now that both of you apologized, we can try and start over. Yes?"

"No," Jason scowls.

"No?" Locke asks warningly.

"No. I can't start over. Not until you apologize to Skeeter and everyone else you've ever bullied and/or hurt."

"Jason-"

"He's right." Everyone looks over, surprised at Ben speaking up. "He's right. Our animosity sprouted from my being rude to my cousin. So it can never really go away until I make things right with him. Him and everyone else."

Jason smiles smugly, Tanner beams with affection.

"That's very good of you, Benny," Tanner says, smiling.

"Don't you dare start calling me Benny."

"Too late!"

"Calm down, _Benny,_" says a smirking Jason.

"Don't you dare start," growls Ben threateningly. "Don't you dare!"

"Let it go, Jason," Locke says quietly. Jason finally does just stay quiet and the four sit in a somewhat comfortable silence before the next person speaks up.

"So, uh, we're done here?" Tanner asks.

"I think we've done all we can do for them," Locke says.

"Get out of my house, Asswad," Jason says threateningly. Locke flicks him warningly.

"Come on," Tanner says, smiling softly. "At least we got somewhere. Baby steps are still steps."

"True," Locke says quietly. "Thanks for dropping by," he says, trying a smile.

"Sure thing." He takes Ben's hand and walks out the door.

~.~.

Prim comes into the house and throws her backpack down, happily ready for Thanksgiving break. Looking over, she sees a familiar person sitting on the couch.

"Katniss!"

"Hey Little Duck," Katniss says with a smile. "How was your day?"

"Oh, it was fine. Everyone was anxious for some break time."

"Yeah, I'm sure they were. Everyone was up at college, too."

"Did Peeta and Gale get home too?"

"Yeah, I've talked to both of them."

Prim smiles, "Good. How about Vick?"

"I haven't talked to them since Rory and his Mom went to pick him up. I thought you should know about that, Little Duck."

Prim giggles a little, "Oh yeah, Rory said something about driving."

"He's not still texting you, is he?"

"No, his Mom would murder him, you know Ms. Hawthorne."

"She really doesn't put up with people's shit," Katniss says laughing, "Especially not her sons'."

Prim laughs, taking a remote and finally pocketing her phone for the first time in a while.

"No one to talk to?" Katniss asks, laughing.

"They've all got lives," Prim says with a small smile, looking to see what's on the other channels.

"Of course," laughs Katniss, messing with her long brown braid. Prim smiles and watches the television quietly, after deciding there's nothing better on.

"Doesn't the turkey smell good?"

"Yeah. Did you shoot it?"

"No, it's not hunting season yet, silly."

"My mistake," Prim says, "How could I forget how your life revolves around the hunting season?"

Both Everdeen girls laugh, lounging back.

"Is Peeta going with you this year?"

"No," laughs Katniss, "He doesn't belong in the woods. Especially not after he tore his ACL. He'd scare all the animals away."

Prim looks over. "How'd Peeta tear his ACL!?" she asks, stunned. Katniss had forgotten that detail in her talks with the rest of her family.

"Oh, he was playing Ultimate Frisbee with a group of guys. His team versus Cato's. He jumped up to get it and came back down on it hard."

"Oh."

"We still won, though," Katniss muses, grinning, "Old Cato got chased off by a bunch of affectionate puppies. He's got a thing with dogs."

Prim laughs, "Sounds like a lot of fun."

"Oh, it was. It was a very intense game. I love to do stuff like that."

"I know. I didn't think Peeta was that type."

Katniss shrugs, "Honestly, I didn't think so, either."

Both girls laugh and then turn their attention to a cartoon on the television set.

~.~.

People talk in the full-to-the-brim Hawthorne house, as Hazelle Hawthorne sets her children to work on their last-minute Thanksgiving dinner preparations.

Rory and Posy heat up the vegetables, Vick keeps a close eye on the stuffing, and Gale helps his Mom set out the turkey, mashed potatoes, and various other festive foods the Hawthornes and the Colemans, from their mother's side, brought to the house.

As the vegetables microwave, Posy takes out her phone, watching for messages and texting Bonnie and Kelley. Rory flips open his phone and texts Prim, smiling giddily.

"You're pathetic," Posy remarks, smirking.

Rory looks over. "_You're_ calling _me_ pathetic?!" He rolls his eyes, "You're the pathetic one!"

"I am _not_!"

"Kelley O'Callaghan this! Kelley O'Callaghan that!" he says in his dramatic girl voice. Posy rolls her eyes, tightening her ponytail.

"I'm talking to Bonnie."

"And the Shamrock."

"His name is Kelley."

"I know. I prefer the new nickname."

"Well I don't."

"Well I'm your older brother, so I don't have to care!"

Posy rolls her eyes as the microwave dings. "There are the beans. You start with the corn."

She pockets her phone and walks up the stairs. Rory shrugs a little and puts the bowl of corn in the microwave, texting Prim and smiling giddily. Soon Posy joins him again.

"I got this!" he says.

"I know. I just don't want to go up there with all the family until I have to. Mom'll punish me if she sees me texting."

"And you don't want to stop talking to your sweet Shamrock!"

"And Bonnie!" Posy protests, flicking him. "That Shamrock thing better not stick!"

"Oh, you know I'll make sure it does!" Rory laughs, "Have fun with the corn!" and runs upstairs, laughing gleefully as he goes.

"Seriously Rory!? You're an idiot sometimes!" Posy calls after him, though he either doesn't hear it or intentionally doesn't respond.

The dinner is soon completely set out, and all of the Hawthornes and Colemans are able to grab food and sit around the dining room table. Grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles and cousins, and, of course, brothers and sisters, all sitting together around the table.

"Times like this I really miss Dad," Posy whispers, as she reaches over Vick to get gravy and pour it on her mashed potatoes and turkey.

"I miss him too," Vick says quietly, sighing a little.

"We all miss him, Pos," Hazelle says quietly, patting her daughter's back with the gentle hand of a mother. When Posy looks up to smile gratefully at her mother, she sees the sadness in those gentle gray eyes and looks away, forcing a sad smile.

"Get in the living room so we can say grace, dear," Ms. Hawthorne says quietly, guiding her children to the dining room with the rest of the family.

"Hey, you okay?" Gale asks, upon seeing their sullen faces.

"Yeah," says Posy, "Just remembering when Dad was around."

Gale's eyes sadden a little but he keeps a smile on and nods. "Oh, yeah. I miss him, too. But we can keep on going," he says with a small smile. "Haven't we always?"

"Yeah, I guess so…"

Hazelle Hawthorne raises her hands to silence the family and clears her throat.

"We're going to pray now, and then we can all dig into the feast!" Everyone gives their assent and, when the room silences again, Ms. Hawthorne starts.

"God, today is a day of thanks. And this family wants to thank you for everything we've been blessed with. For the opportunity to see each other, the opportunity to eat such a plentiful meal together… There have been times for all of us when we've worried about starving, or poverty. There have been hot times, throughout the year and our lives, but you always help us through. And you always help us find a way. And we thank you for that, that and the fun times we've had, and for every blessing we don't see. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Vick reaches over and squeezes Posy's hand as the family echoes, "Amen."


	7. Chapter 7: Holiday Cheer Right?

**Chapter Seven: Holiday Cheer...Right? **

And so the autumn passes and Panem soon appears to be drifting into a cold, bitter winter. Everyone wears their coats and gloves and hats to school and does their very best to stay warm. Prim can never understand how Katniss could stand to go out hunting in the winter; just five or ten minutes outside is more than enough for Prim, but Katniss has always been strong like that.

As time passes by, everything seems to become grayer, especially the weather. In fact, barely anyone feels ready for the Christmas season by the time mid-September rolls around.

As the weather gets colder, Tanner and Ben haven't seen each other quite as much: they can't spend too much time at either house because of a fear of coming out to parents, and the time for walking around aimlessly in the bitter cold has become very limited.

However, from the occasional glances Tanner gets at school and the occasional conversation, he's noticed something very different about Ben Hoffsteader.

The most minimal of the changes Tanner's seen is that he's a lot quieter. He doesn't scowl as much nowadays, which means something is changing in his heart. When he sees Tanner he smiles and he acknowledges that the other boy exists now, which is better than in the autumn.

However, the more obvious and more alarming changes are what Tanner sees in him physically. He's skinnier. He's paler. He often taps his fingers together or taps his feet or looks around, constantly moving and seeming, maybe… Tanner isn't sure, but he's definitely not himself.

Tanner has no idea what's going on, but he already knows that most of it is bad.

However, Tanner knows that, as his boyfriend, it lies with him to try and make things better for Ben, whatever he possibly might be going on. So he gets in his car one evening and drives the streets of the town, watching to see where his beautiful Benny might be now. He very rarely finds Ben at home.

Eventually, just when Tanner's ready to give up, he sees a silhouette much thinner than he remembered, and much worse-looking. He pulls up and rolls down the window. "Ben!" he says, causing the other boy to yelp and look over. "Cooper," he hisses, "What are you doing here?"

"Wanted to pick you up. I want to take you out."

"Out? Out where?"

"Get in. You'll see."

Ben hesitates, but eventually climbs into the car. He's shaking like he's cold, but he's pale and sweating as if he's just thrown up.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," snaps Ben, staring out the window and trying to stop shivering.

Tanner starts driving, mostly to prevent from scaring Ben away, which is highly probable if he says something uncomfortable.

"Where are you taking me?" Ben asks, sounding exhausted and staring out the window.

"You'll see," says Tanner.

"Stop saying that!" Ben says irritably.

"Relax." Tanner stops at a stoplight and smiles at him encouragingly. "Okay? Just take a breath and relax."

"Fine." The brown-haired boy tries to relax, watching out the window as Tanner pulls into the parking lot of a church.

"What are you doing?"

"Relax, it's not about religion. Our church is having a chicken dinner and there'll be music and it'll be fun."

"Cooper-"

"Relax, it'll be fine. Come on, it's free food, and free entertainment. Please. You don't look well and I want to help you."

Ben taps his toes on the ground and cracks his knuckles, looking around, before wiping sweat from his forehead. "Fine. But only for you."

"Good!" Tanner smiles as reassuringly as he can, getting out of the car and putting the keys in his pocket, "Come on, then."

He takes Ben's hand and walks in the doors. Ben follows, shaking the hair out of his eyes. He hates it, hasn't had it cut in a long while, but he would like to. He walks in the building with Tanner, the warm, bright, inviting room decorated for Christmas. Music plays, people chat, and Tanner pays three dollars for each of them to go in and sit down.

"You didn't say you were paying for me," Ben scowls.

"Relax, it's a date, that's how it's supposed to go. Now sit." Tanner sits and Ben obediently sits across from him.

"See, this isn't so bad." He glances around the room, relieved to see no one he knows well.

"Guess not." It smells delicious, really, and Ben hasn't had a warm meal in a long while. He just prays that he doesn't throw up, tapping his feet nervously.

Soon the servers pass out plates of chicken covered in gravy and biscuits that steam and look absolutely delicious. Ben slowly picks up his silverware and starts to eat as the music switches from a group of singers to a young girl who plays on a keyboard. Well, she's not too young; Tanner knows who she is because of the glee club, and recognizes the red ribbon in her hair.

Ben's too busy eating and enjoying the food to notice who's on the stage. Tanner eats slower than Ben and enjoys Byna's music calmly. He eats half of his chicken and then offers the rest to Ben, who tries to make him eat it before caving and taking it.

After Byna finishes her songs, the stage is taken by group with multiple instruments and a vocalist, and Byna sits at a table of kids, all with huge smiles and rosy cheeks. Tanner recognizes Crawley first, and then the rest of the Archers. Ben practically drinks the rest of the gravy on his plate before the server takes it.

Then they put out a table full of baked goods and sweets, and soon everyone is encouraged to sing out some popular Christmas carols. The room fills with joyful noise, Tanner adding to it and singing his favorites especially loud. "Let's go get some cookies!" he says, grinning and walking with Ben to the table.

He grins with happy relief that Ben's cheeks seem to be much rosier and his face seems to have some more color than when they had entered. Unfortunately, he still seems very far from okay, and Tanner still doesn't know why.

As Tanner and Ben pick out some of the delicious-looking food, a particularly jolly song is played and Tanner sings gleefully, only stopping when he hears a quiet voice singing beside him. He glances over at Ben, not enough to make it obvious for fear that he'd stop, but enough to hear his voice.

Tanner had heard Ben sing before, with Daphne, in fact, back when she had a study hall third period and he was a wandering office aid. But Tanner was too busy listening to the words to care about how Ben's voice sounded. He was too shocked to even see the guy up on the stage.

But now, now when Tanner takes a second to listen, takes a second to be calm and warm and happy with Ben by his side, now he can really listen. And, though Ben's only singing under his breath as he picks out some sweets to eat, Tanner notices his voice is really beautiful.

Soon Tanner starts singing again, but not quite as loud, as he listens to Ben. Soon, though, the other boy stuffs his face with cookies and stops singing to eat, and so Tanner eventually picks at the delectable desserts that he picked.

As they're eating, Tanner finally vocalizes a thought that was coming to his mind.

"Benny, you should consider joining the glee club."

"Wh-what!? Me?! Absolutely not."

"It's fun, though!"

"No."

"Please? For me?"

"No. There are some things I might do for you, like talking to Gutterball-"

"_Beeeeeennnnnn_."

Ben rolls his eyes, "Don't _Beeeeeennnnnn_ me."

Tanner frowns, noticing how incredibly irritable Ben's been lately.

"Anyways, there are some things you can make me do with those big blue eyes, but this is not one of them. I cannot sing."

"Are you insane!? You sounded great!"

"Y-You were listening!?"

"Of course." Tanner smiles softly, "Your voice is just so sweet."

"Sh-shut up, no it's not."

"Sure it is. It must run in your family."

"Nuh-uh!" Ben retorts.

"Uh-huh!" Tanner retorts back, stuffing a cookie in Ben's mouth before he can retort back.

Ben sighs, chewing and swallowing. Tanner laughs.

"It doesn't matter. They hate me there, remember? They laughed at you for even liking me, remember? They'd never let me in."

"But you could prove that you've changed!"

Ben taps his feet and his fingers anxiously. "No, and that's final. Got it?"

"Just come. Come for one after-school rehearsal. You'll have so much fun you keep coming back!"

"I doubt it. Gutterball's there. Rothman's there, too."

"Prove me wrong, then. Give it a chance. If you hate it I'll drop it. Come on, I won't stop pestering you until you do!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Tanner shrugs, flashing the biggest, saddest blue puppy eyes he can possibly manage. "Come on, Benny, _pleeeeaaassseee_?"

"No."

Tanner blinks. Ben's never said no to those eyes before. He tries again, "_Please_!"

Ben pauses, sighing and scowling a little bit. "Fine."

Tanner beams, "Yay!"

Ben doesn't smile, but he stops scowling. He taps his fingers against the table in rhythm to the song being played, and Tanner runs out of things to say. Soon, the night concludes and Tanner and Ben walk together to Tanner's car.

"Where would you like dropped off?" Tanner asks.

Ben shrugs, before he feels sick to his stomach and can feel himself about to vomit. "He-Here," he gags a little.

"Are you alright?!" Tanner looks over, concerned, eyes serious. "Ben, what's wrong!?"

"Nothing." He pauses. "Thanks for tonight." Then he unlocks his door and gets out the car, gagging and running off in the other direction. Tanner just watches a little bit, sighing and vowing to get to the bottom of whatever's going on with Ben.

~.~.

The next day seventh period, it's obvious that nobody's really in a Christmas mood.

Marvel, after having lashed out on Poppy at Veteran's Day, hasn't talked to her a bit and considers them unofficially broken up.

The juniors have to write a huge paper just before Christmas break.

Posy misses her father more than ever this time of year, Bonnie is still worrying about school and about being noticed by Kelley, and Kelley is just surrounded by so many downers it's hard for him to show any kind of cheer.

The Archers are just trying to make ends meet, and Byna's parents are constantly on her case this time of year and she's sick of it.

As for the freshmen, well, they're hanging tight, but school is stressful for them, as well, and the orphanage is getting the yearly bunch of holiday children.

Needless to say, nobody's ready for Christmas to come. The days ticking by go quickly and busily, and nobody's stopped to consider that Christmas is less than two weeks away. And nobody's stopped to consider the fact that they intend to get together with their rival school just like they did the year before.

Their student teacher passes out a Circle of Fifths worksheet, looking as disgruntled as always, and the students sigh.

"Uh, Mr. Fellington, couldn't we sing some Christmas music today!?" begs Skeeter.

"Yeah! I mean, I know we couldn't rent out the auditorium for a Christmas concert this year," the group lets out a collective sigh, "But couldn't we sing some jolly songs anyways?" Bonnie adds.

"That'd be fun!" says Tanner, and soon the whole glee club is begging, giving their prettiest puppy eyes, "Please, Mr. Fellington! _Please_!"

"So, you've figured out that it's that wretched season once again. Good for you."

The students beg harder in response, the pit even harder than the singers. "_Please_!"

"I sure hope you people don't get as excited about Christmas as you do about Halloween," he mumbles. The kids laugh a little but soon get back to begging.

"Let them sing," Mr. Everdeen offers, smiling a little, "We couldn't let them have a concert, but at least let them sing."

"Ben's coming after school today, and I just know he'd stay if only we could have some fun singing!"

"Actually, let's do worksheets instead!" Jason says, "Boring, stupid, black and white worksheets, let's do them today all day!"

Locke flicks him and Jason looks over, offended. After a warning look from Locke's eyes, Jason shuts up and pouts instead.

"Fine, we'll do this," Mr. Everdeen tries to compromise between their scowling student teacher and the excited students. "We'll do this worksheet during class-" a collective groan sweeps the kids, "But we'll sing as soon as school lets out. Okay?"

"Fine," the kids grumble as the worksheets are passed out. None of them are really fans of this new student teacher.

~.~.

After school, the kids gather in the auditorium and the pit gleefully tunes in preparation for the festivities of the days. Tanner meets Ben outside the auditorium and takes his hand.

"Y…You look worse than yesterday," Tanner says, biting his lip. Ben wipes sweat from his forehead and Tanner notices how pale and jittery he is today.

"Thanks," Ben deadpans, scowling.

"No, I didn't mean you look ugly, I just-"

"I already knew I look god-awful. Thanks."

"Ben…"

"Just let it go. You'll know when I want you to know."

"Okay…" concerned, Tanner bites his lip as they go into the auditorium to see the glee club picking orders of what to sing and who sings it. Tanner chooses Deck the Halls, and he gets to go third. After everyone's had their shares of fun and singing, during which Ben's moved closer and closer to the back for fear of throwing up, Crawley is the last one to go.

Everyone quiets their excited chatter from Rue's rendition of Silent Night to look at the stage. Tanner starts moving toward Ben in the back, who looks just about ready to leave.

"Please stay," he whispers, as the pit is changing their music.

"I've gotten too many dirty looks from everyone, I'm not welcome here-"

"Please. Just one more song."

"Fine," Ben scowls. Tanner pulls him back up front with the others, silently begging people to just be kind to him. Jason gives him an evil eye but other than that everyone else tries to smile.

"Uh, I don't really sing, a lot-" Crawley starts, but he's interrupted by the bandies (minus Byna) shouting, "Liar!"

"Fine! I don't really sing a lot for _people_. So I hope I don't suck too bad. This song goes out to everyone out there who is stressed about trying to scrape money together this season. Anyone who's afraid of going hungry, anyone who's ever considered dropping out of school to work, like me. My heart goes out to all of you, and I know how it feels myself."

He nods to the pit to start playing.

Rebecca holds up her phone. "What are you doing?" Tanner asks, confused.

"Oh, I'm taking a video. Dill and Cliff have to see this." Tanner figures that Dill and Cliff are the two oldest Archer brothers, who he saw with the family at the chicken dinner the other night.

The pit starts playing just then and Rebecca shushes everyone as Crawley starts to sing.

"Come, they told me, pa rum pum pum pum…  
A newborn king to see, pa rum pum pum pum…"

Shit. Ben knows this song. In fact, as a kid, it'd always been one of his favorite Christmas carols. He knows every word, every note, every pitch… He could take over if Crawley were to pass out mid-song or something. But he keeps a scowl on his face and just keeps his eyes trained on the stocky kid singing the song.

"Little baby, pa rum pum pum pum…  
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum…  
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum…  
That's fit to give the king, pa rum pum pum pum…"

Crawley's voice isn't terrible. It wasn't god-awful when he sang the band song Hey Baby, but it's even more pure now. His voice wavers on a couple of notes but it's easy to look over. Rebecca zooms in on her phone, smiling. The others all watch, interested. Ben tries to keep scowling and looking away.

The rest of the club hums background chords along with the pit during the instrumental part, and Ben is tempted to hum with them.

The pit does a dramatic key-change for the final verse, and that's what drives Ben to feel unpleasantly emotional.

"Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum!  
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum!  
I played my drum for him, pa rum pum pum pum!  
I played my best for him, pa rum pum pum pum!  
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum!"

Crawley smiles slightly, reflecting on those times when he had nothing to give but his music. He always wished he had more to give to so many people that he loved so dearly, but the Archers are a family that always has to make do with what they have. After miniscule pause, he finishes out the song.

"Then he smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum…  
Me and my drum."

There's a pause as the final note fades before the glee club erupts into applause and Crawley wears a typical dorky Crawley grin. Byna looks up from the piano and smiles a little bit. Her relationship with him is still… Complicated.

Soon, everyone goes and Tanner walks out of the auditorium with Ben, who looks frazzled and upset.

"Are you alright?" Tanner asks quietly.

"Fine," grumbles Ben, gagging.

"You're obviously not-"

"I'm not contagious!"

"Then what-"

"I'll tell you when I tell you!" he says, "And until I tell you don't ask!" He runs off again and Tanner just watches him go, sighing.

He walks to his car, upset and unsure of what he can do for Ben. All he knows now is that this is going to be a very… _different… _kind ofChristmas season.


	8. Chapter 8: A Christmas Carol

_**A/N: Warning: Another OC chapter is ahead. This one's got a lot of OCs that are from past stories. Never fear, though, because they'll only really appear once or twice throughout. **_

**Chapter Eight: A Christmas Carol**

Rue wakes up that Christmas Eve morning around nine, but she eventually lays in her bed, curling up with a good book. She really has no motivation to get up and get dressed, and a day reading in her PJ's is something just fine with her.

That is, until she hears singing outside her window. At hearing the noise, Rue runs to the window and opens it wide, shivering at the chilly air that hits her face.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Rue!" to the junior's delight, multiple alumni are already with the carolers among the members of the club. There are even some faces Rue doesn't recognize.

"I'll get dressed and be right out!" Rue throws on some clothes and a pair of comfy boots, yelling to her parents where she's going, and grabbing a coat and gloves as she runs out the door.

"Hey guys!" she says, hugging all her alumni friends and laughing happily.

"Merry Christmas Eve," says a blonde-haired girl. She was Rue's senior buddy when Rue was nothing but a freshman.

"Thanks Nathalia. How've you been!?"

"Stressed out, but pretty good. How're you liking your junior year?"

"Oh, I like it a lot!"

The group starts walking again, and Rue talks to multiple other alumni that have joined the group caroling. Mr. Fellington stomps in the very back, scowling.

As they walk, the unfamiliar faces introduce themselves. There's a small Asian girl with glossy black hair named Yukiko, who is the student teacher at Liberty, and another girl with curly blonde hair named Champagne, the student teacher at Capitol Academy.

Also there is Platinum, the student teacher last year, and his boyfriend Mario, who student taught at Capitol. The group stops at the orphanage next to pick up their two freshmen. The door soon opens and the door soon opens, curious orphans poking their heads out.

"Merry Christmas Eve! We're going caroling!" Platinum says cheerily.

"Oh!" the two freshmen immediately start getting their coats.

"Would you guys like to come?" asks the doll-faced student teacher from Capitol Academy.

The shyer orphans run back inside, but some of the older ones get coats on and join the group outside. Among them, three alumni and a junior named Hope who jumps around the group.

The group keeps going to pick up various alumni from Capitol. The group picks up Skeeter and an alumni named Santana before dropping by and picking up another alumni named Athena. Her step-sister Clove and Clove's boyfriend Cato listen to the singers but decline the offer to go along with them, instead deciding to play an indoor game of hallway-soccer.

The group picks up Tanner and a very upset Marvel and the O'Callaghan brothers before going to Liberty.

On the way to the Liberty side of town, Tanner sees a familiar face and skips over. "Ben!"

"Shit."

"Ben, we're going caroling!" he gestures to the singers, "You should come with us!"

"No."

"Why not!?" Tanner asks, giving him big blue eyes.

"I…I feel really sick. Sorry."

"Oh…" Tanner bites his lip, "I'm sorry. Want me to stay with you?"

"No."

"But…"

"I'll be fine."

"Ben-"

"We can help," Rue says gently, though Skeeter is looking away.

"I don't need help. I'm fine."

"Ben…" Tanner tries, frowning.

"Leave me." He quickly walks away, Tanner looking torn on whether or not to follow him. All of the alumni in the group that know Ben scowl, but Rue tries to be gentle with her good friend. "Let him have some space for now. You can find him on the way home."

"Good idea," Tanner mumbles awkwardly.

The group keeps on walking, all of them awkward, until the songs start again and the mood gradually lightens. They go and pick up Bonnie before going to the Liberty area to start picking up others.

The carolers go into Liberty to pick up Locke and Jason. After some singing outside of the house, Locke opens the door and greets them all with a charming smile, Jason soon grudgingly behind them.

"Merry Christmas Eve!" says Locke, greeting all of his alumni friends.

"Merry Christmas Eve!" the group echoes.

"Hey," Jason says, freezing in his tracks when he makes eye-contact with Santana.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Sleepy Hollow," Santana says quietly, smiling slightly.

"U-Uh…" he says, staring at his shoes. He hadn't thought about her since October. Last summer she had kissed him before she left for college, and Jason spent a lot of time on it until school started, and then he had pretty much forgotten it completely until this moment. Seeing her again, seeing her pretty young face and her wavy black hair, brings back all kinds of memories. Locke nudges him a little bit and Jason eventually stumbles after him and to the end of the group.

"You okay?" Locke asks under his breath over the singers.

"Yeah," Jason says, shaking off the thoughts and memories and the awkward feeling and heart fluttering he always gets around Santana.

The carolers sing to their heart's content, picking up Byna next and then going to the Everdeen's side of town.

Before picking up Prim and Mr. Everdeen, the group stops outside the Archer house to sing their carols.

Crawley comes to the door, Rebecca looking over his shoulder and a slightly younger girl with glasses following.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Crawley!" Locke says happily, smiling.

"Oh, Merry Christmas Eve! Are you guys caroling?"

"We are!" muses Tanner, "Care to join us?"

"Yeah!" Crawley says, "Just a sec!"

He grabs a coat and calls, "Hey, guys! Some friends are going caroling, anyone care to join us?"

"Yeah!" All three girls get on shoes and coats and go out to meet up with their friends.

"Sounds fun," the oldest Archer brother says, smiling down at Crawley.

"Not in a million years," the second-oldest says, scowling. Cliff Archer has a reputation for being generally unlikable and rude.

"It'll be fun!" Crawley tries. His older brother scares him sometimes, but he still tries to reach out to him.

"No."

"Crawley's _girlfriend _is there," Miranda calls, giggling.

"Oh?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Crawley says, blushing.

"I want to see this."

"Cliff-"

"Let's go see Crawley's girlfriend," the second-oldest Archer muses, as the group walks outside.

"Cliff…" Crawley groans, embarrassed.

The Archers join the group of carolers as they go to the Everdeen house for their last stop.

"Hey Crawley," Byna says quietly.

"I apologize in advance for my siblings."

"Hey," Cliff says, walking between the two, "Nice to meet you, Crawley's girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend," mumbles Byna.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Crawley protests soon after that.

"Of _course_!" muses Cliff, grinning and putting an arm across each of their shoulders.

"Cliff," hisses Crawley, embarrassed. Byna looks away, blushing.

"Oh, no, don't mind me. After all, you're apparently not dating."

"Can you stop being rude and embarrassing for once in your life!?" Crawley groans. Cliff takes a second to ponder that and then says, "Nope!"

He sings gleefully with the rest of the carolers and Crawley prepares to literally die of embarrassment.

They go to the Hawthorne house and pick up Posy, who eventually lures Rory to go with them due to the prospect of seeing Prim. After that, they go to the Everdeen house, their last stop on their caroling journey.

After a couple of songs, Prim opens her window and waves at them, smiling with her pretty rosy cheeks, before saying goodbye to her cat Buttercup and soon joining the carolers outside, her father soon following. Now the glee clubs together formed one large group of happy carolers and traveled around town, sharing songs with people and being invited in once or twice for some hot chocolate.

After an afternoon of caroling together, the group splits: a lot of them, mostly Capitol and Liberty kids, go back home to their families. The rest of the group goes to the Everdeen household for a celebration and a large dinner cooked by Mrs. Everdeen. Katniss attempted to help, but really the only things Katniss could do were peeling and cutting vegetables and plucking the turkeys she shot for dinner.

Inside the warm Everdeen living room, the remaining people all relax and eat a hot dinner by the warm fireplace. Linus sits on Elijah's lap and the two exchange a million doe-eyed looks. Mario makes a point to drag Platinum under the mistletoe that hangs in the doorway to the kitchen.

Soon a bunch of happy couples head that way. Rue and Skeeter, Nathalia and her boyfriend Mason, and multiple other couples, mostly alumni, find their ways under the mistletoe. Santana occasionally glances at the doorway, trying to figure out how to corner Jason somehow.

Once dessert is up, everyone flocks in and out of the kitchen one at a time, unless they don't mind a peck on their way. Crawley and Byna go together and walk side by side, considering that nobody told them about the plant, until Cliff shouts, "Looks like the lovebirds got caught!"

Crawley looks up and turns crimson. Byna gets awkward and glances up at him. Eventually, Crawley kisses her, and just like the first time, both of them feel some kind of unexplainable spark. The kiss is longer than a peck but not a full make-out, just long enough for everyone to nag them to "just date already!"

Eventually the flustered couple-that-isn't-exactly-a-couple-yet gets the dessert table and this time walks single-file through the mistletoe-doorway, as much as both of them secretly want to share another kiss under the mistletoe.

The rest of the evening goes smoothly, as Mr. Everdeen eventually puts on some soft Christmas music. Santana sits next to Jason and Locke and eventually strikes up a conversation with them. Edward dissolves into texting Artelind, a girl that goes to Liberty and is mute.

Kelley gets caught under the mistletoe with both Bonnie and Posy, giving a peck on the cheek to each of them. Both girls try to hold onto the feeling for as long as possible.

Around six, Mr. Fellington (who nobody had heard a peep from all day, he just walked around scowling and occasionally singing a line or two) gets up to leave.

"Wait, Drake!" Miss Walker, the Capitol Academy teacher, jumps up. "You can't go! This is fun!"

"I don't care."

"Stay, Drakey-Poo!"

The kids burst into laughter, including Platinum and Mario.

"Nobody is allowed to call me that! Especially not you!" He keeps going towards the door.

Champagne jumps up and scurries after him, grabbing his arm. "Aw, come on!"

Suddenly, Platinum shouts, "Stop! Hold on! Look up!"

The two student teachers freeze and look up at the mistletoe hanging in the doorway.

The kids grin expectantly.

"Th-This means nothing!" Mr. Fellington stammers awkwardly.

"Aw, Drake!" Miss Walker squeaks, giggling. She puts a hand on his cheek gently and kisses him. Their student teacher reacts by awkwardly kissing her back. The kids burst into cheers and applause, and in his shock Miss Walker is able to drag him back and make him sit.

An evening of festivities and a super awkward but hilarious mistletoe kiss between Locke and Jason later (Jason had retorted, "No way in hell!" and Locke had embarrassedly pecked him on the cheek as the whole room roared with laughter. Jason had later ensured that all videos of the events were deleted by using some terroristic threats) and soon it is time for everyone to get home before it gets too much darker out there.

Mr. Everdeen bid everyone farewell and Merry Christmas as the others walk home.

Santana walks alone, sighing to herself that she never got to kiss Jason (though she had laughed the loudest when Locke had kissed him). Locke and Jason are still a tad embarrassed, while Rue and Skeeter walk home together, recounting the night and laughing about it.

Tanner goes outside to go find Ben and try to help him. He wanders the streets for half-an-hour, looking around. Tanner eventually gets freezing cold, so much so that he eventually abandons the quest and goes home, sighing quietly.

As Tanner sits up in his room by himself, (his parents told him to get to sleep so Santa Claus can come), he just can't get to sleep.

_Ben's out there, somewhere. Hopefully he's home. _

_What's wrong with Ben? Why is he sick? What's going on? _

Tanner sighs sadly, trying not to cry. He really can't sleep, he's too busy worrying now.

_We're supposed to trust each other._

He sighs, turning off the lights and laying down in his bed, curling up in the covers.

_So…_

The most terrifying thought comes to his mind in that moment, staring at his wall in the dark, sighing and wiping away tears.

_Why won't he tell me? _


	9. Chapter Nine: Finals Week

**Chapter Nine: Finals Week**

When Skeeter Skypes Rue that night, she looks overwhelmed. Her hair is all over the place, her brown eyes are pooled with tears that look like they're trying hard to escape. Her face is pale and her lips are creased in a frown.

"Rue, are you alright!?" Skeeter asks, his eyes widening a little.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she whispers, in her soft, gentle voice.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"It's this stupid final that's going to happen Monday," Rue says miserably.

"You're good at English, though."

"This is AP, though, Skeeter, it's a whole different ballgame." She glances down, at what Skeeter assumes to be her study guide.

"Relax," Skeeter says, in a calm and quiet voice, "Take a deep breath and relax. You're going to do fine, Love, you're plenty smart."

"But am I prepared, Skeeter?! Am I prepared!?" she almost shouts but keeps her voice down to not wake anyone in her house.

"I'm sure you are."

"It's so stressful," she mumbles miserably, "I just don't think I'm prepared enough for this… How am I supposed to test on this stuff?"

"It's multiple choice, isn't it?"

"Multiple choice can be hard," she says quietly.

"It can be. But you're smart, and you'll do great."

Rue glances up from her notes and smiles slightly at her computer screen. "Thanks."

"But you definitely won't do great if you don't get a good night's sleep." He glances at the clock and nods decidedly when he sees that it's almost midnight.

"I guess you're right…"

"So stop worrying about it and get some rest. You'll do sensational. Take a deep breath."

"Thanks Skeeter." She looks calmer now and less ready to cry, but just plain exhausted. She tries a tiny smile and he gives her a reassuring smile back.

"Good night."

"Night. I love you."

He smiles at his best friend, taking a second to think about how pretty she always is, even when she's exhausted and looks frazzled and it's eleven fifty at night.

"Love you too."

Then both of them hang up the call, feeling so very lucky and sleeping well.

~.~.

And so finals week has come upon Panem High.

The freshmen are pleasantly surprised by the ease with which they complete the tests, and the sophomores, who are more used to it, know exactly how much to study and are definitely not quite as anxious as last year.

The juniors go back and forth: some of the classes they take are AP, Advanced Placement, which are college-level classes. The rest are not so challenging.

Rue's AP English final is taken with Jason's pissy pencil-tapping in the background. After the test, Locke chirps about how the first part may have been a challenge but the rest of the test was not so bad. Jason sulks, muttering something about lots of D's, and Rue just listens more than she talks, as is probably the smartest thing to do with those two anyways.

Seventh period is a room full of babbling, stressed-out children and a less-than-pleasant student teacher. The club is able to have a rehearsal and sing a couple of songs, but it's obvious that the hearts just aren't into it.

The next day is foreign languages, which are a lot less stressful than the others. After all, foreign languages are tailored for the dimmest to pass, and the kids in the glee club are all smart enough to not worry too much about their tests.

Wednesday proves to be a stressful day for those seniors who are in AP Biology (like Crawley) and Chemistry (like Byna and Marvel). For the juniors in physics, this proves to be quite a stressful day, as well, though admittedly Skeeter and Jason barely cared to study, as opposed to Rue and Edward and Locke, who spent the whole day badgering over their notes.

The next day is going to be a particularly stressful final, and the kids sit restlessly in seventh period. Skeeter starts to get jittery nervous, Edward starts asking Kelley questions from his study guide, and Marvel flips through huge piles of notes from the beginning of the year.

Tanner is particularly stressed out. Not only is this week full of finals that Tanner isn't very good at (he doesn't memorize things well, and he definitely doesn't take tests well), but it's been a week or so since Tanner's seen Ben in school. With this mysterious secret illness thing Ben is hiding and the prospect that these grades will forever make or break him, Tanner isn't sure where to turn.

He feels like he's got no one to talk to (considering that everyone hates Ben and hates more the prospect of him dating Tanner) and now it's just an overwhelming feeling of being stuck. He talks to no one, not even Rue.

Suddenly, the door opens to reveal last year's student teacher, Mr. K, smiling broadly, the straps of a baby backpack on his shoulders.

"Hey kiddos," he says, smiling brightly.

"Mr. K!" they all grin and jump up and take turns hugging him. On his back is a little baby backpack, his child happily wiggling his arms.

He shakes Mr. Fellington's hand and then turns to the students.

"You don't seem quite yourselves," he says, sounding concerned.

"Finals," mutters Skeeter, who is starting to feel just about the same way Rue did when they Skyped that Sunday night.

Rue takes his hand and squeezes it lightly, kissing his cheek gently.

"Ah, I see. Looks like we made some pretty good timing, then." Mr. K. flashes them a kind smile, and the one-year-old on his back babbles happily at all the people.

"Maybe I was going to do something productive with them," Mr. F. snarls.

"Maybe you need to take a chill pill, Drake," Platinum says, patting his head. Their current student teacher growls and slaps his hands away.

"How's Champagne?"

"How should I know? She's at Capitol Academy, dumbass."

"I know you're good friends with her, that's all."

Caught in a corner, Mr. Fellington huffs and grumbles, "She's fine."

Dutch, the small baby, is put on the floor and soon the students take turns playing with him and making faces at him until he's giggling. Playing games and singing simple nursery rhymes and laughing, even for a little while, is calming to the kids who just needed some time for fun.

The bell rings too early, it seems, and the kids go home and are once again faced with the task of preparing for a daunting history final.

The next day, Crawley spends his band period reading from his notes and asking Byna questions, and she returns the favor. Her questions are a lot more detailed and challenging than Crawley's. Skeeter and Rue go back and forth with their last-minute preparations before the test.

The students stumble through their finals, though not happily. Jason mumbles angrily to himself and gets scolded for being too loud. Locke flashes him reassuring smiles throughout the test, but Jason either doesn't see or ignores these attempts at reassurance.

Skeeter chews on his eraser and doesn't finish in the class period, leaving three questions blank at the end. Rue finishes her test and turns it in with only a minute or so to spare.

Seventh period feels like a funeral service for the upperclassmen's grades, with the underclassmen being obliviously happy. After a couple of half-hearted songs and their ill-tempered student teacher finally giving up on making them do anything, the group has a study hall.

Tanner keeps his eyes glued to his math notebook. The numbers soon fade out of focus and Tanner lets them, as if he were actually studying them before he zoned out anyways.

The more he sits there, not talking, the room dead silent, the more he thinks. And the more he thinks, the more he starts to worry. _What have I done that's made him give me the cold shoulder? _

He's determined to find out. After all, the whole point of this relationship was for him to help Ben get better. He wanted to do that so badly, but how can he do that when he can't even get Ben to say hello to him anymore?!

The more Tanner thinks, the more he feels like this estrangement is his fault. But there's no logical way it could be his fault. Not unless it was _him _that gave Ben that mysterious illness, whatever it is. But that seems absolutely impossible, really. Tanner knows it's not his fault, but the more he thinks, the more he's sure that it must be.

_Maybe I said something or did something that annoyed him… It wouldn't be the first time someone was annoyed into leaving…. _

Rue gently taps his shoulder, snapping Tanner out of his thoughts. "You okay?" she asks.

"F-Fine," Tanner mumbles, sighing sadly to himself and trying to figure out how he's going to deal with this situation.

"You don't seem fine."

The rest of the room is silent and Tanner doesn't want any other eavesdropping.

"I am."

And that was the end of that conversation.

Friday brings a wave of celebration through the school, and as everyone takes their math finals, they celebrate the fact that this week is finally over and they don't have to worry about it until May. However, with how fast time's been going, May suddenly seems not-so far away. Crawley especially doesn't want to think about it.

Seventh period, however, is full of happiness and celebration that Mr. F. can't get the kids to sit still. Eruptions of conversation about the finals they've gotten back and the grades. Jason got better grades than he was expecting, and Locke smugly reminds him of that. "Just like every year," he says.

Tanner half-heartedly contributes to some of the conversations but he knows what he has to do after school today. Like it or not, he's going to have to get Ben and have serious conversation with him. Ben might be hurtful to get him to leave, but Tanner is trying to prepare himself to be strong.

As soon as the bell rings, Tanner takes off from the classroom.

~.~.

"Ben!" Tanner runs through the hallway, a hoard of students pushing past him. "Ben!"

The tall, brown-haired boy keeps walking, head down, ignoring the other boy yelling his name. "Ben!"

Ben refuses to stop, refuses to look up.

Tanner pushes in the middle of a couple making out in the middle of the hall, still trying to catch up with him. Tanner is not ready to give up.

He keeps walking quickly through the hall, jumping around people, until he's stuck behind a girl with crutches and her posse of boys, successfully cutting him off from the other. Mumbling pissy _"Excuse me"_s, Tanner keeps speed-walking to catch up with Ben.

He weaves through the various friend groups. "Ben!"

Ben keeps walking, all the way out the door. Tanner doesn't even stop at his locker to get his coat or his books, because he knows this is the only chance he's going to have to talk to Ben.

Tanner shivers with cold but doesn't let it stop him. He's not used to being inadequately dressed for the cold, but he knows he can't let it stop him now.

Ben walks for a while, eventually veering off in the woods near the school. Tanner keeps following, though he's shivering now and getting dripped on by the snow that was on the trees from the snowstorm that had happened earlier that week.

"Ben, please!"

Ben stops and hunches over to throw up. Tanner runs over and rubs his back gently, shaking from stress and nerves and sadness and especially the piercing cold.

Ben spits and slaps Tanner's hand away from him, glaring and wiping his mouth. "Stay away from me!"

"Ben, c-calm down!" Tanner shivers, trying not to cry.

"Where's your coat? Where's your car!?"

"I-I didn't stop for them," Tanner pants a little bit.

"Why not?"

"Right now, you're more important. Talk to me, Ben, what's wrong!?"

"It-It's…" he shivers and scowls, causing Tanner to slink away a little bit. Ben doesn't say anything and just walks back to the school. Tanner follows.

"Stop asking," he mumbles, "And if you weren't so persistent, I wouldn't tell you."

"So you're going to?!"

"Maybe." The couple reaches the school and Ben sees Tanner to his car.

"Want to come with me? I'll give you a lift."

"No," Ben says, a scowl coming back across his face, "I don't need anything from you, Cooper!"

"Please, talk to me! What's going on!?" he begs, shivering a little bit.

Ben dry-heaves but has run out of food to throw up before he turns to face Tanner, a scowl on his face, hurt exploding in his olive-green eyes.

"Ben, please, just tell me what's wrong. Please…"

The taller boy finally looks up, small tears pushing out of his eyes. He says one word before he turns around and runs away, Tanner trying and failing to run after him.

"Withdrawal."


	10. Chapter 10: Let It Snow

**Chapter Ten: Let It Snow (As If They Have a Choice)**

"That explains so much!" Skeeter says, after having listened to Tanner's story about the events of the other day.

"Poor Ben," Rue says quietly.

"I was dumb to have not seen," Tanner says. He thinks back, back a long while, before he had even thought of Ben like that.

_It was a dreary kind of day, and Tanner didn't remember what he was doing or where he was going. Maybe he didn't know at the time, maybe he was letting his feet walk for him. _

_Anyways, he saw Ben that day. He saw Ben with a plunger and he saw his bloodshot eyes and his spacey expression… _

Tanner facepalms. "Of course! How could I have not noticed?! I saw him, I saw him high one day and I didn't even think about it!"

"Don't beat on yourself, Tanner," Rue says quietly, "It's not your fault."

"Why won't he tell me anything?!"

"He's Ben. He's a tough nut to crack." Skeeter still isn't exactly okay with the fact that Tanner and Ben are dating, but's making a true effort to accept it.

Tanner sighs to himself, rubbing his temples gently with his fingers. "This is a complicated relationship. But I suppose that was to be expected."

"Complicated is the understatement of the century," Skeeter says, mostly to himself.

"I know, I know… And I know it's all my fault for putting it all on myself-"

"Tanner."

He looks over at Rue upon hearing his name.

"I know this is stressful for you, but think about how it is for him right now. I think before you stress out about the relationship, you should consider Ben and be there for him, no matter if it's as friends, more than friends, or even enemies like before."

Tanner takes a deep breath. "You're right. I shouldn't worry about the relationship. That's selfish of me. He comes first."

Unsure of what to say, both of his friends just nod. Tanner rambles off, mostly to himself now. "I need to be with him, and help him get better… It doesn't matter that I haven't come out to my parents yet, he comes first-"

"You haven't come out yet?" Rue asks, not sounding surprised but curious.

"They would freak if they knew. They're homophobic and absolutely nasty."

"When are you going to tell them?"

Tanner shrugs a little bit. "I don't know…. Probably not soon. No, I can't worry about this until I help him. What do you guys think I should do for him?"

Both of them think, Skeeter more reluctantly than Rue.

"Probably talk to a counselor or someone. Someone who knows a lot about the subject. They might help more than we could."

"Have you considered singing to him?" Skeeter asks. It's a question that's seemed to come out of nowhere.

"I've considered it a little bit. How would that help?"

"It might. I dunno, talking to a counselor's probably a good idea."

The three friends sit in silence, thinking.

Tanner gets up suddenly. "Thanks for the advice. I'll talk to you later." Then he leaves, the couple soon following.

~.~.

As much as Ben tries to avoid Tanner at school the next day, his efforts are soon smashed by Tanner's sheer determined attitude.

"Ben!"

"I'm not talking to you."

"Well even if you're not talking, you're going to listen."

Ben starts to walk faster but Tanner keeps up, knowing that Ben doesn't have a choice.

"Just because this happened doesn't mean I'm not going to keep trying to help you. And, unfortunately, it doesn't mean I'm ever going to stop loving you."

"Shame."

"Why don't like it, though?"

"Because I don't like constantly feeling like I'm letting you down. Admit it, you deserve better!"

"It couldn't get much better than this. Really."

"I'm so… So… Such a piece of work!"

"That's okay. I wouldn't be putting in the work if I didn't think you were worth every second of it."

Ben pauses in his walking, Tanner stops with him.

"You okay?"

"Fine," Ben huffs.

"You're definitely not."

"So what if I'm not!? No one cares anymore but you, anyways!"

Tanner pauses, frowning. "Oh, Ben, that's not true..."

"Take a look around you. Then get back to me." He walks off quickly, and Tanner has to get to class.

~.~.

Toward the end of January, on a cold, snowy night, the Panem marching band hosts its annual band banquet. The seniors are allowed to invite their parents and one other guest, while the only people anyone else can bring are themselves.

Crawley drives in the car with his sisters and parents, without a guest because he couldn't pick one of his other siblings to bring along. They're among the first to arrive, and Crawley claims a table for himself and all his friends.

Soon, the others start to arrive. Prim and Bonnie appear next, and Kelley after. Locke and Jason show up a while after. And, right on time and not a second later, Byna arrives with her parents. In a long gown, dark, old-timey make-up, and daintily curled hair tied away from her face with at least a dozen red ribbons.

Crawley almost chokes on his own spit and at least half the band is glancing at her in any given second. When her parents aren't looking (commenting on how this décor is incredibly shabby for a supposed banquet), Byna flashes them all the coldest death-stare. She silently dares anyone to say anything, and everyone obediently goes back to whatever conversations they were having before.

After having dumped her parents in the back where they're supposed to sit, she finally joins Crawley and the others. The group is silent, nobody really knowing what to say about it and waiting for someone, anyone else to speak first.

Crawley is finally the first person to take that shot, "Hi Byna!"

"Don't you dare say one word," she growls at all of them.

Soon, the rest of the group finds other friends to talk terrorize, leaving the two drum majors alone.

After a while of awkward silence, Crawley finally pipes up, beaming. "Aw Byna you're so cute God I could just eat you up look at you with your little rosy cheeks and your bows-"

She kicks his shin, not as hard as she can but enough for him to get her point. "My parents are nuts and try to make me wear this crap every day."

"I think it's cute!"

Rosy cheeks get even rosier under the heavier make-up Byna's been forced to wear. "It's not, it's atrocious."

"Maybe to you! I like old-timey things! Besides, that outfit isn't quite as bad as my full name!"

"Your full name?" She considers this. "Why, what's so bad about it?"

"N-Nothing!" He smiles sweetly, "I've said too much already!"

"No, that's not how it works! You have to tell me now!"

"I do not!"

"That's the general rule of thumb."

Before the conversation can go any farther, the kids take their seats and the festivities begin with the buffet being opened.

Byna drops the subject when surrounded by their other friends, but keeps it in the back of her mind to ask him about later.

On their way down the food line, the Binnaport parents make a point to stop with plates in hand at the kids' table.

"Anita Elisabeth!" her father says, "Tell me, who are your friends?"

The majority of the table forgot that Byna even had a real name, and keep their eyes focused politely on each other and occasionally looking up as Anita Elisabeth introduces each one of them quietly. When Crawley is introduced, Byna has to break eye contact to hide her blush, and he quickly jumps at the opportunity to greet both parents and strike up a conversation.

"Crawley… What a lovely name."

"My parents were really interested in really old-timey things, and they saw the name in an old English novel and fell in love with it."

"Vanity Fair, perhaps?"

"Yeah, that one! Ha, good book!" he immediately switches into bullshitting mode because he's never actually read the book, only seen the movie. Luckily for him, he's saved when a chaperone dismisses their table to get some food from the buffet. He bids the parents a polite farewell and goes off with the others, satisfied with himself.

"They seem lovely, Anita Elisabeth," her mom says, winking as she follows the others to eat.

After feasting on some delightful food and chatting and laughing together (not too loudly, though, or else Byna fears her parents might grow distasteful of them), the directors stand up on the podium to make speeches. After some of the bands long-faithful chaperones speak, the dance instructors give out their share of awards.

As much as she tries not to get her hopes up, Prim hopes she might be the outstanding junior dancer award. The freshman and sophomore are both girls that Prim and Bonnie both liked well enough. The junior award goes to a girl that isn't Prim. The junior sighs quietly, smiling and clapping because, in hindsight, she did deserve the award she got.

After the dancing awards are out of the way, the band director steps up to give some more awards, including the best marching award to one boy and girl from each class. Freshmen are two people Locke only knows somewhat. One is a trumpet, though, so Jason applauds for him, smiling. The sophomores are two more people that they all know somewhat.

The juniors are read off, and this is when the surprise comes. The girl is a tuba that the group only knows moderately well, and the boy… "Locke Gedeckt!"

The boy whose name had been called blinks in shock. Everyone in the room claps and Locke finally blinks, standing up and walking by the stage to receive the certificate. The seniors are announced and then, after one last round of applause for them, the group is allowed to sit down.

As his table congratulates him, Locke has his typical Locke-beam on feels happier than he had in a long while. With the stress of school on him, he's forgotten how to really have fun. He vows to spend more time on his saxophone and more time with his friends, remembering how he was for the summer and fall months of that year, and never ever wants to feel like that again.

Crawley, Byna, and the other drum major Cutter all make speeches about how being in the band has changed them, and after some closing remarks, the speeches are over and the dance part of the banquet begins. The parents, including Byna's, leave, and the kids and directors can let loose and have fun.

As soon as the music starts, Locke disappears to talk to some of his freshman and sophomore friends. After washing some make-up off and taking out some of the ribbons, Byna feels a lot more carefree and soon accepts Crawley's offer to dance. Prim texts Rory while she and Bonnie and their dance team friends enjoy themselves to the lively music being played by the DJ.

"So," Byna starts.

"What?!" Crawley shouts over the loud music.

"I said, _so!_" she shouts back. Crawley laughs.

"So what?!"

"What's your full name!?" she shouts.

"I dunno!"

"Yes you do!"

"No, I just dunno if I should tell you!"

"If you should what?!"

"If I should- never mind! Want me to get you something to drink!?"

"Sure, I'll have some water, please!" But she's still not ready to let that go.

Jason spends about a minute watching the dancers on the dark, colorfully-lighted dance floor before promptly getting bored and wishing to save his hearing. He sneaks off to the back of the room, next to the cupcake table. After another minute or so of looking around at all the happy, laughing bandies, Jason promptly pulls out his phone and goes on the Internet.

After a while of making his rounds and terrorizing his underclassmen friends, Locke finally realizes that his loyal comrade is no longer by his side, and promptly starts his Jason hunt. It doesn't take very long for Locke to find him and walk over, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Jason!"

"Huh? Oh, hi Locke."

"What are you doing?" He already knows. It's the same thing Jason does at every single dance they've ever gone to.

"You know I hate dances."

"Why don't you find some other friends to hang with or something?"

Jason is torn between _"The only friends of mine that are here are the ones that I see every day and am tired of" _and _"I don't have any"_. Finally, he sighs. "There's no one I want to talk to. I can't do big groups, they just shut me out."

"I'm sure that's not true! There are plenty of people here to talk to!"

"Yeah, and they all like you."

"They can like you too! You're likable!"

"Meh." Jason leans on the wall again and turns his phone back on.

"Jason!"

"What? You know my thing with dances. They're just shitholes full of sweaty, dancing children, colored lights, and shitty music with too much bass so it shakes the rooms and your ears bleed."

"Oh, come on!"

"I can't dance."

"Sure you can!"

"No."

"You had a great time last year, remember? What'd you do then?"

Jason thinks. "I stood by the cake table and talked to Santana about how shitty high school dances are."

Locke has to take a deep breath. "Of course you did."

Suddenly, the Cupid Shuffle starts to play.

"Oh, come on, it's almost impossible to mess up this one! Put the phone back in your pocket where it belongs!"

Jason looks up to where everyone forms lines and dances to the music before promptly shaking his head. "No, it's so dumb and frankly hurts my eyes to look at." He goes back on his phone.

Locke sighs. "Fine. But if you want to talk or dance or even remotely enjoy yourself, I'll be around."

He leaves, and Jason smiles a little to himself, chuckling quietly.

"I'm having plenty of fun on my own."


	11. Chapter 11: Valentines

**Chapter 11: Valentines**

_Songs used: Young Volcanoes by: Fall Out Boy, A Thousand Years by: Christina Perri_

Ben wanders by himself, humming a random song under his breath. He hears footsteps and sighs to see Tanner running towards him.

"Hey you!" chirps Tanner, smiling and taking his hand.

"Hi," Ben says, smiling despite himself.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Kinda shitty, as usual."

Tanner frowns, concerned. "Are you sure you don't want to go to a counselor or something? They'd help you."

"I'm not going to a fucking counselor!" Ben snaps, "I'm too poor anyways!"

"I wish you would tell someone…"

"I don't trust people, Cooper, and you're going to have to deal with it."

Tanner sighs, staring at the ground as they walk aimlessly. "Sorry. I just hate to see you so worn-down."

"Well get used to it." Ben releases an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, I'll try." The two boys continue their walk in silence.

After a long silence between them, Tanner speaks up, in a quiet voice.

"Ben, can I talk to you? It's serious, though. I feel like you've trusted so much to me that I should let you in on some things about me. I trust you."

"Why?"

"Because you've put your trust in me. I'm ready to return the favor."

"Uh, sure? What's on your mind?"

"I'm worried about coming out."

"Huh?"

"My parents. They're homophobes. They want to set me up with a girl from my school."

Ben bites his lip. "Yeah?"

"Mmhm."

"I'm afraid of mine, too."

"I was wondering if you'd come home with me."

Ben stops in his tracks. "Huh?"

"I want you to be there when I come out to my parents. Please… I'm really scared."

"I-I don't think I can do that."

"I… I can't make you, but… It'd just mean so much, to have you there, if you care enough to go with me…."

"I couldn't. I'd mess up too bad."

"Please!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Then at least… Can't you come to glee club with me on Saturday? Just sit and watch?"

Ben huffs. "Fine."

Tanner sighs quietly, frowning. "I'll… I'll see you then." He turns around and walks away.

~.~.

"Hey. You okay?"

Marvel looks up from where he was curled up in the seat of the auditorium, waiting for the other glee club members to show up for their Saturday rehearsal.

"Oh. Hi there Rue."

"You don't look so good."

"It's Valentine's Day. Another reminder that I can't hold on to a girlfriend."

Rue takes a seat beside him, her gentle brown eyes twinkling with concern.

"Where's Skeeter?"

"Coming."

"Hm."

Rue puts a hand gently on his shoulder. "Have you talked to Poppy since the parade?"

He sighs quietly and shakes his head, "No. Haven't even looked at her."

"That may be the place to start. I'm sure she'll understand, everyone has days like that sometimes."

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts. This relationship isn't going to be over unless you exterminate it yourselves. I'm sure she'd listen if you talked."

"I was just so scared and stressed out. Really, I still am."

"That happens to most every couple sometimes. I was a mess during finals week, and he was a mess pretty much all of last year. There have definitely been times where we lost tempers with each other, but we're still doing okay."

"Yeah, but you're you two. You've been friends since you could even toddle."

"That might be true, but that certainly doesn't make us the perfect couple in any kind of way. We still have stumbles and roadblocks, just like you."

"I guess we're overreacting…"

Rue winks. "Maybe just a little bit."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up."

Rue grins at him and leans back, "Aw, you know you love me!"

"For some reason," Marvel sighs.

The two make casual small-talk as the other students soon arrive in the auditorium for practice.

Byna sits by herself, nose buried in a book. This is the longest she's been in the same room as Crawley and able to read. Her fellow drum major paces around the room, biting his lip. Finally, after going over what he wants to say, he sits next to her.

Byna glances up and waits for him to start talking before greeting him.

"Hey," he says shyly.

She smiles slightly, closing her book. "Hi Crawley."

"Happy Valentine's Day," he says shyly.

"Same."

He holds out a rose and she takes it with the nimble fingers of a pianist.

"Would you like to be mine?" he asks. "We wouldn't have tell your parents, or anyone really…" he mumbles quickly.

"You don't give up easily, do you?" she asks, an amused expression intruding her facial features.

"When it's something as precious as you, nope!" he chirps cheerily. "So, what do you say?"

Byna glances at the rose, her cheeks rosy in flattery. "Alright." She glances up at him, "We can give it a try."

"Yeah!" Crawley fist-pumps happily. Byna rolls her eyes, smiling a bit despite herself.

"So, are you going to crack about that middle name situation?" she asks, amused.

"What?! Of course not!"

Byna giggles a bit to herself and neither can say much more before Mr. Everdeen starts rehearsal.

"Love," he says. "Obviously that's the theme for this rehearsal." He glances to where Prim happily pops some chocolate from Rory into her mouth.

"Love _or lack thereof_," Mr. Fellington remarks from the piano stool. All of the students exchange a look.

"Well, uh, anyways, is there anyone that would like to sing-"

Suddenly in comes Tanner, Ben holding his hand.

"Sorry we're late!" he says.

"Who invited Asswad!?" Jason groans. Locke kicks him in the shin and whispers, "Be nice."

Ben makes a face at Jason, muttering an annoyed "Gutterball," under his breath.

Tanner pulls him into a seat and Mr. Everdeen starts to talk again.

"Well, uh, welcome, Ben. We're glad you came back."

Ben grumbles but soon the others ignore him.

"So, is there anyone that would like to sing first?"

There's a pause when Crawley raises his hand. "I would!"

Byna suddenly realizes what this entails and buries her face in a book to keep the attention away from her, as if the action would.

Crawley takes the stage to a bunch of enthusiastic whooping from the other singers.

"This song goes out to you Byna. Together we're gonna flip society on its ass."

The music, a favorite song of his, starts to play, and a few of the students recognize the tune as soon as the pit starts singing, "La, do da dum, la da da da dum, la da da da, do da dum…"

The Archer sisters both have their phones out.

"What're you doing?" Kelley asks.

"Are you kidding?" whispers Miranda, giggling. "Our brothers at college have _got _to see this!"

And then, Crawley starts to sing. "When Rome's in ruins, we are the lions,  
Free of the coliseums!  
In poison places, we are anti-venom.  
We're the beginning of the end!"

Byna squeaks and watches over her book, blushing. Her parents would never let her listen to such bands as Fall Out Boy, but every once in a while she would get the opportunity to in secret.

"We are wild! We are like young volcanoes!  
We are wild! Americana, exotica,  
Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby?  
Yeah!"

Crawley doesn't have a terrible voice, as the band had discovered when they let him alone for his Hey Baby solo. He smiles hugely, over the moon with happiness at finally getting Byna to give him a chance. Soon the rest of the glee club chimes in with the pit for background vocals.

Crawley taps his feet against the stool and lets the music take him away with the next verse,

Come on make it easy, say I never mattered!  
Run it up the flagpole!

We will teach you, how to make boys next door  
Out of assholes!"

He provides a small laugh before going on,

"Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds!  
It's all over now! Before it has begun,  
We've already won!"

He sings the chorus with a new wave of joy, not noticing his sisters who giggle quietly as they film his song. Locke sings background with a jolly air; he likes to sing but definitely not by himself in front of so many people, no matter who those people might be. But, he happens to have quite a fondness for this song, and lets himself enjoy hearing it.

When the song is over everyone cheers and Crawley grins at Byna, who is squeaking with embarrassment but also very flattered.

As the applause dies out, one person continues clapping. Everyone looks toward the back of the auditorium to see a tall, slender woman with curly blonde hair that walks down the aisle to the stage.

"Not bad, really, very good! You've done a good job, Drakey Pie!" she giggles a bit. Their student teacher turns red as a tomato and sinks into the piano.

"Hey kiddos! I'm Miss Walker, I'm the student teacher at Capitol Academy."

"Oh yeah," the kids remember her caroling with them on Christmas.

"I just dropped by to give my Valentine's gift to Drake. Er, uh, Mr. Fellington."

"Honest to God, Champagne…" he buries his beet-red face in his hands.

"Is this boy your principal singer, Drakey?" Miss Walker hands him a bouquet of flowers and a heart-shaped box of candies, giggling.

"W-We don't really have one."

"Oh. Well our principal singer this year is very talented and going to drive Capitol Academy to victory. Do any of you know Holden Duch?"

The kids shake their heads, but Crawley hesitates because he does know that name. He knows it well. Finally he makes himself shake his head in denial.

"Well, he's got a really pretty voice. Mario left a legacy to be rivaled with, that's for sure. Though I'm sure Platty did as well."

Drake shrugs, looking awkward and blushing bright red.

"Anyways, I'll see you on Saint Patrick's Day!"

She turns around and walks out, the kids exchanging a look.

Crawley takes a seat next to Byna and puts an arm around her, trying to forget about that name Miss Walker said and feeling nervous. He gazes at Byna and silently reassures himself that Junior high was Junior high and that those days are gone.

"Curse Capitol Academy," sighs Skeeter, and everyone laughs.

"So Miss Walker, eh?" asks Rue.

"All of you shut it! There's nothing going on there!"

"Scandalous," Kelley says teasingly. Mr. Fellington growls, blushing harder, and the other kids all burst out into laughter.

Mr. Everdeen grins, "So, who would like to sing next?"

Rue stands up. "I would, if you don't mind."

"Sure thing! Come on up!"

Rue smiles and takes the stage, the others cheering her on, except for Skeeter, who sits and watches, dumbfounded.

Rue smiles softly as the track starts and says, "This song goes out to no other than Skeeter, who keeps me grounded when times get tough."

Then she starts to sing. "Heart… beats… fast,  
Colors and promises.  
How to be brave?  
How can I love when I'm afraid… to… fall?  
But watching you stand alone,  
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow…

One step closer…"

She sways softly on the stool, smiling and singing calmly and sweetly, which she does better than anything. Skeeter watches dumbly, amazed, while the others all smile and sway to the calming song.

As she sings, Skeeter eventually breaks into a stupid grin that stays on his face and doesn't leave for a long while. She's into the second verse when she gets off the stool and takes his hands, pulling him up and into a slow-dance.

"…I will be brave  
I will not let anything take… away,  
What's standing in front of me!  
Every breath,  
Every hour has come to this…"

He smiles and sways with her, back and forth, humming a harmony part quietly under his breath. She smiles softly with the chorus, listening to Skeeter's quiet harmonies.

Tanner smiles and rests his head on Ben's shoulder, and Crawley sways gently, his arm around Byna, both of them smiling softly. Posy and Bonnie both glance at Kelley and take one of his arms, and he smiles but doesn't react other than that. Both girls want to tell him how they feel but just can't.

Rue continues her sweet singing without the instrumental, the others listening and Skeeter listening quietly, smiling hugely.

"I have died, every day, waiting for you…  
Darling don't, be afraid, I have loved you,  
For a thousand years…  
I'll love you for a thousand more…

And all along, I believed, I would find you.  
Time has brought, your heart to me!  
I have loved you, for a thousand years…  
I'll love you for a thousand more…"

The instrumental fades and Rue kisses her boyfriend softly, a kiss that is gently returned. It's sweet and light, not too long, and by the time the instrumental part fades, both juniors take their seats again and the glee club applauds. Rue snuggles as much as she can with the armrests there and whispers, "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Same to you," Skeeter laughs, "Too bad I just got you candy and a crappy poem."

Rue giggles, "Hey, who doesn't like candy? And I'm sure your poetry is lovely."

"As long as you don't mind rhyming Rue with Kazoo."

She bursts out laughing. Jason makes a puking noise and Locke elbows him for it.

~.~.

After rehearsal is over, Ben and Tanner walk to Tanner's car together. Once they're in and situated, Tanner reaches through the backseat and hands Ben a nicely-wrapped box.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he says with a soft smile.

Ben looks dumbfounded. "I-I… I don't have anything for you." He holds out the box, "You can take it back."

"No, I want you to have it. It doesn't matter if you've got anything for me."

"Are you sure?"

Tanner nods encouragingly, "Open it."

"Okay…?" he unwraps the box and pulls out a card. When he opens it, he finds a handwritten message.

_Dear Ben,_

_You're the strongest person I've ever met and I really like you. I hope you're very happy this Valentine's Day and want to keep on making you happy. You can come to me with absolutely anything. I want you to remember that no matter what, you can always come and talk to me about ANYTHING. You're stronger than you think. Keep on being strong, no matter what. And remember that I'll always be there for you, as a friend or a nerd or a boyfriend. _

_Love, _

_Tanner Tyson Cooper_

"T-Tanner…"

"What do you think!?" his blue eyes twinkle with excitement.

"It…It's so nice…"

"That's kind of what this day is about."

Ben smiles a bit. "I needed it a lot. So, thanks."

Then he removes the tissue paper in the box to find a nice hat, scarf, and gloves.

"Cooper-"

"I know you need them, even if you say you don't. And I want you to have them, and use them."

Ben hangs his head, not sure what to say or think. "Th-Thanks."

Tanner starts driving home.

"So, what'd you think of today's rehearsal?" he asks.

"I don't know," he sighs. "I guess I feel crappy that I have nothing for you except for my crappy reassurance that I don't hate you."

"That's okay," Tanner says.

"It doesn't feel okay."

"Well it is."

Ben sighs and glances at the smiling senior. "We'll never be like them."

Tanner smiles softly, parking the car at the spot where he usually drops Ben off, and brushing some of the bangs out of his boyfriend's face. "That's okay," he says quietly, "I love you anyways."

As soon as Tanner says those three word, Ben freezes and nods a bit. "Uh, right," he stammers, "Talk to you later." He quickly gets out of the car, wearing his new winter things.

Tanner sighs a little bit to himself, then drives the rest of the way back home.


	12. St Patrick's Day

**Chapter 12: St. Patrick's Day**

_Songs Used: Clancy Brothers Medley by Celtic Thunder, Red is the Rose by the High Kings, Star of the County Down by Celtic Thunder, and She Moved Through the Fair by Celtic Thunder_

~.~.

"_I'm going to Capitol Academy next year." _

_The seventh grader looked at his best friend, the shaggy blond hair and the bright blue eyes that now just looked unquestionably sad. They both sat on boxes, watching adults load the big truck with all their things._

"_That's great," he said quietly. "No need to be sad about that…" he smiled a Crawley smile to try and be reassuring. _

"_Yeah, I know… But… I'm going to miss you. A lot." How could he admit his feelings? How could they ever be together? There were just too many odds against it. And the young, blond boy knew that, even back at that time. _

"_I'll miss you too." Gray eyes tried to brighten. Crawley didn't know how to say it, but he didn't want his friend to be sad. In fact, he was certain that, even though the schools were half an hour to forty-five minutes apart, they could meet again someday. All Crawley knew back then is that his friend was moving to be closer, and soon they'd be close to an hour and a half apart from each other. And Crawley knew he was too poor to ask his family to drive him an hour and a half to talk to him ever again. _

"_We can still talk. Somehow." None of the Archers could afford a cell phone at that time. It just made everything worse. There was no way to communicate with him. _

"_We're us. We'll find a way." Crawley tried his best to smile and have it be real. He really did. _

_They heard a couple of tired-sounding adults call the boy's name. _

"_Well, I guess this is goodbye then," the blond boy said miserably. _

"_Guess so." _

_They exchanged a sad glance before the blond boy closed the gap, throwing his arms around his best friend. "I'm going to miss you!" he said, slightly tearily. _

_Crawley couldn't help thinking how much less this would suck if his family wasn't in a financial ditch and could afford some form of communication besides writing stupid letters. "I'm going to miss you, too."_

_After another shout of his name, the two friends let go. _

"_I'll write to you as soon as I can," he promised. Crawley nodded a bit._

"_Let's go!" the father shouted at his son._

_Teary blue eyes glanced at the moving truck leaving and his parents beckoning to the car. _

"_Bye," said Crawley quietly, but he didn't have a second to think before he was pulled in by the shirt and kissed. It didn't last very long, and soon the blond boy pulled back and ran to his car, wiping humiliated tears from his eyes on the way. And so Crawley's first kiss was over, and so he watched the car drive away, and so he had a feeling that Holden Duch wouldn't be writing to him any time soon. _

Cloudy gray eyes blink awake at the sound of his alarm clock. The Archer boy sits up and wipes his tired, heavy eyes. As if the dream wasn't bad enough, today he's going to have to face him again.

Rebecca and Miranda run into his room, both leaping onto his bed and giggling as it jolts him around. "Wake up sleepy head! We're singing against Capitol Academy today!"

A lump forms in his throat that makes it hard for Crawley to swallow. He nods a bit. "I know." His stomach ties into uncomfortable knots.

_What will happen when they meet again? _Crawley's not so sure he's ready to find out. He's not sure if he's ready to face his first love again, after so many years. And part of him is even afraid that he might fall in love with him again. He pushes those thoughts out of his mind, after all, he's got Byna and she's perfect….

_Maybe he's gotten really weird and unattractive. Maybe he's become an asshole. _But Crawley knows that's not going to be the case.

_Maybe he's got a boyfriend. _Yes, that would solve things.

Crawley soon makes himself get out of bed, the unsettling thoughts persistently running around in his head. He brushes his teeth and washes his face, wondering if Holden could possibly feel this nervous to see _him_ again.

_Surely not. He's got much worse to worry about. He probably forgot me. _He doubts that's true, too.

He gets dressed and heads out to the kitchen, where everyone gets a frozen toaster waffle for breakfast.

Then, the siblings start the drive to the Saint Patrick's Day Festival, where Panem meets with their rival school Capitol Academy to have a Saint Patrick's Day sing-off. Crawley shoves his nerves away from his throat and sits still for Prim to put some stage make-up on him. The others talk and chatter excitedly, but Crawley just sits quietly and listens.

He catches Byna's eye and waves once, but other than that stays uncharacteristically quiet and un-annoying. When the others try to cheer him up a little he laughs a little bit but doesn't join in on the jokes. Everyone exchanges concerned looks.

"Yoo hoo, Panem!" sings a woman's voice. The Capitol Academy student teacher skips over in a long, flowing dress. "Good morning!"

"Morning!" the O'Callaghans chime in together, smiling. Everyone else soon adds various greetings and smiles.

"It's such a pretty day for a sing-off," she says, sarcasm in her voice considering the sky is gray and rainy.

"Yeah," they all say, sighing a bit.

"I just came to say good luck!" she sings, wrapping an arm around Mr. Fellington's shoulders. The Panem student teacher scowls and blushes bright red, causing the kids to laugh. Crawley somewhat forgets about his nerves for a little bit.

"Let's play it nice and clean and fair, yeah?"

"Right!" they all chime in. Mr. Fellington sighs, crossing his arms.

"I wish you all the very best of luck, and nothing less!"

"To you as well!" Kelley says, grinning.

"Why can't you be as enthusiastic as your students, Drakey?" Miss Walker asks, smiling at him.

"Because I can't," he scowls.

"Sorry for him," Miss Walker sighs. "He's a real party pooper."

"We can deal with it," Rue says with a small nod. The others nod.

"See, you're doing just fine!"

"Shut up," he scowls. The kids take note that he doesn't try to move the young woman's arm from around his shoulders.

"I have to go warm them up, but good luck and have fun!"

"Thanks!" they say, smiling as she skips off, her blonde curls bouncing as she goes.

"Guess we should warm up too," grumbles their blushing student teacher.

The instrumentalists take their instruments. Byna tries to get Crawley to look up from behind the piano, concerned about him, and biting her lip.

After some warmups, the sing-off is ready to begin.

"Since we won last year, you can go first," Champagne says, with a sweet smile.

The Panem High kids take the stage after a short pep talk, Crawley's nerves flying as he keeps his eyes on his music. He tries to convince himself it's just stage nerves but isn't truly fooled. The pit exchanges looks and nods before starting to play the introduction for their medley of songs by the Clancy Brothers, an Irish singing group.

Kelley is the first on the stage, with his cheerful, infectious smile. "I'll tell my ma when I get home,  
The boys won't leave the girls alone!  
They pull my hair and stole my comb,  
But that's all right till I go home…

She is handsome, she is pretty!  
She is the Belle of Belfast city,  
She is a courtin' one, two, three!  
Please won't you tell me who is she!"

His infectious personality goes over well with the fairly small crowd that decided to brave the rain to come to the festival. He avoids looking at Capitol Academy and stays down-to-earth and confident.

"…She's as sweet as apple pie,  
She'll get her own lad by and by!  
When she gets a lad of her own  
She won't tell her ma when she gets home,  
Let them all come as they will,  
For it's Albert Mooney she loves still!"

He sighs and shrugs, the others soon joining him on stage to "comfort" the "heartbroken" Kelley. Bonnie and Posy have to hide embarrassed blushes, though they think it's adorable. Soon the song switches.

"Come single belle and beau!,  
Unto me pay attention!" Tanner sings, and Marvel adds, "Don't ever fall in love,  
It's the devil's own invention!"

Tanner sings, "For once I fell in love  
With a maiden so bewitchin',"  
And everyone joins in, "Miss Henrietta Bell, down in Captain Kelly's Kitchen!"

They all sing out happily, "With me too-rah-loo-rah-lay,  
Me too-rah-loo-rah-laddie."

After another verse that makes the crowd snicker, the song switches one last time.

"On the fourth of July, eighteen hundred and six  
We set sail from the sweet cove of Cork!" Marvel sings out, for once forgetting his worries.

Tanner picks up, still looking for Ben in the crowd. "We were sailing away, with a cargo of bricks,  
For the grand city hall in New York!"

Skeeter soon takes the melody, spinning Rue around and everyone enjoying themselves, "'Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged fore-and-aft,  
And oh, how the wild winds drove her!"

Kelley sings around his fiddle-playing, "She'd got several blasts, she's got twenty-seven masts!" Everyone sings out, "And we called her the Irish Rover!"

Skeeter sings the next line, "We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out  
And the ship lost it's way in a fog!"

Kelley sings happily, "And that whale of the crew was reduced down to two,  
Just meself and the captain's old dog!"

Tanner throws up his arms dramatically, everyone adding dramatic exclamations "Then the ship struck a rock! Oh Lord, what a shock!  
The bulkhead was turned right over!"

Marvel sings next, shaking his head dramatically, "Turned nine times around… And the poor dog was drowned!"

After a slight pause, everyone sings the last line together, "I'm the last of the Irish Rover!"

The crowd applauds and laughs and Miss Walker looks impressed. Then, everyone takes a seat on some stools for the next song, which was going to be much quieter.

Crawley, slightly embarrassed at singing for an audience for the first time, nonetheless joins the others on stage and sits next to Marvel, refusing to look out into the audience or to the backstage, where he was sure the Capitol kids were watching.

Byna plays a quiet E on her piano for Edward to get his pitch, and he sings the first part verse of "Red is the Rose" as best as he can.

"Come over the hills, my bonnie Irish lass…  
Come over the hills to your darling.  
You choose the road, love, and I'll make the vow…  
And I'll be your true love forever."

He had never sang completely by himself before, he was very quiet and shy his freshman and sophomore years. But, now that it's all done and over, it feels really good for Edward. He wonders if Artelind decided to come after all or not.

The group sings the chorus together, gently and creating quiet chords without the help of the pit.

"Red is the rose, that in yonder garden grows…  
Fair is the lily, of the valley….  
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne  
But my love is fairer than any."

Everyone looks to Skeeter, who smiles softly as he sings the next verse, one voice and nothing to back it up but himself. "'Twas down by Killarney's green woods that we strayed….  
When the moon and the stars, they were shining…  
The moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair…  
And she swore she'd be my love forever."

Everyone sings the chorus again and Crawley feels like he's going to be sick. He would just like to go home and not talk to anyone. But, he promised he would sing, so he's going to sing. Mr. Everdeen had said it was going to be intense, especially for someone that didn't sing much like him, but had expressed so much faith in him Crawley couldn't say no.

After a slight, longer-than-they-had-rehearsed pause, Crawley starts his verse under Byna's quiet E on the piano, focusing on making that first pitch spot-on like he had been advised.

"It's not for the parting that my sister pains…  
It's not for the grief, of my mother…  
It's all for the loss of my bonnie Irish lass…"  
He sighs quietly before finishing his verse, the silence slightly overwhelming. "That my heart is breaking forever."

They sing the chorus once more, quietly and calmly, and then one last time, slightly louder and with more body to it.

"Red is the rose, that in yonder garden grows…  
Fair is the lily, of the valley….  
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne  
But my love is fairer than any."

The crowd applauds, the singers and pit bow, and then they all find seats to take to watch Capitol Academy. Byna sits next to Crawley and smiles up at him, "You sounded pretty good."

"Thanks," he says quietly.

_Five years is a long time. He probably has a boyfriend. He probably forgot me. This is silly to worry about._

The Capitol pit soon takes their spots, as always a large ensemble of many instruments that Panem doesn't have. They start a very fun and peppy song called Star of the County Down.

The first person on the stage is someone Crawley doesn't recognize with dark hair and large brown eyes, "In Banbridge Town near the County Down one morning last July…  
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen, and she smiled as she passed me by!

She looked so sweet, from her two bare feet, to the sheen of her nut-brown hair.  
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself, for to see I was really there!"

The others soon scurry out cheerfully on the stage to join him for the chorus, belting happily, "From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay,  
And from Galway to Dublin Town,  
No maid I've seen like the brown colleen,  
That I met in the County Down!"

Crawley scans the singers but doesn't see anyone he recognizes. Byna watches him silently, confused on what could be causing him to act so strange.

The next singer appears and a girl nobody knew who was supposed to be the Star, with bouncy brown curls and a sweet smile. This boy is still not recognizable to Crawley either,

"As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head, and I looked with a feeling rare…  
And I says, says I, to a passer-by, "Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"

He smiled at me, and he said, said he, "She's the gem of Ireland's crown,  
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann, she's the Star of the County Down!"

The others pipe in for the chorus, joining in for some partner dancing and jolly jigs during the chorus. Crawley's stomach twists and turns and he accidentally catches Byna's eye beside him, flashing her a nervous smile before his attention is drawn back to the stage as the instruments drop out except for one violin, the percussion, and the singer, who Crawley knew damn well just by his voice.

When he looked at the stage, sure enough, it was the boy that Crawley recognized immediately. (To Crawley's despair) Hotter than the last time they had parted, wearing a cute newsboy cap that pushed his blonde hair into his bright, lively blue eyes. He sang with a confident smirk that caused his eyes to sparkle even more. Transfixed, Crawley couldn't look away, biting his lip and listening to the smooth, pretty voice of the boy he hasn't talked to in five years. During his verse, he winked, and Crawley could swear he made eye contact as he was being thrown aside by the pretty brown-haired girl.

"I've travelled a bit but was never smit  
Since my roving career began.  
But fair and square, I surrendered there  
To the charms of Rose McCann.  
I'd a heart to let, and no tenant yet,  
Had I met in a shawl or gown.  
But in she went, and I asked no rent,  
From the Star of the County Down!"

_Shit, _thought Crawley, biting his lip as he felt Byna's sweet, perfect hand on his arm and saw her beautiful smile, eyes blinking sweetly at him. He felt his temperature rise in embarrassment and also in panic.

_He's gotta have a boyfriend, _Crawley thinks nervously, _Problem solved before it even began…_

Holden dances with a bright-eyed girl with bouncing blonde curls who some of the others from Panem do recognize from last year. She had been the only one not present during the first part of their Frozen sing-off last year.

The last verse is sung by a boy that all the kids recognize from last year. He's hard to forget not only because of his adorable smile and his impeccable sense of humor but also because he's in a wheelchair. Finn looks to be having the time of his life as he wheels around.

"At the harvest fair, she'll be surely there,  
So I'll dress in my Sunday clothes!  
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked right,  
For a smile from my nut-brown rose!  
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke,  
'Til my plough is a rust-coloured brown!"

The song picks up again from where it had slown down as the girl sits on his lap, "'Til a smiling bride by my own fireside,  
Sits the Star of the County Down!" He laughs happily, spinning around, and the girl laughing as they all sing out happily. Crawley feels himself start to sweat a little bit as the song ends and the kids strike a pose.

The audience applauds, including the Panem kids, and Crawley snaps out of his dumb trance. He keeps feeling eyes on him, unsure if they're Byna's or Holden's or really, neither of them.

The next song goes off of a concert E as well, from the low voices of the pit.

Finn sings first, quietly. "My young love said to me, 'My mother won't mind…"

The other dark-haired boy joins him for harmony, "'And my father won't slight you for your lack of kine…'"

Holden joins last for a triad of singers, the low E in the background. "She went away from me and this… she did say…  
'It will not be long, love, till our wedding day.'"

The next verse is sung by someone who looks younger that the other Panem kids don't recognize, the rest of the ensemble behind him, "She went away from me and she moved through the fair,  
And slowly I watched her move here and move there…  
She went his way homeward with one star awake,  
As the swan in the evening… moves over the lake."

The tempo picks up slightly as the ensemble sings some syncopated syllables behind the main singer, another boy not recognized, "The people were saying no two were e'er wed… but one has a sorrow that never was said…  
And I smiled, as she passed, with her goods and her gear…  
And that, was the last, that I saw of my dear."

The ensemble goes back to one sustained note, the low E in the background.

The last verse is sung by Holden, his blue eyes sparkling with emotion. Crawley looks at the other singers, nervous.

"I dreamt last night that my young love came in…  
She came in so softly, her feet made no din;  
She stepped up beside me, and this she did say,  
'It will not be long love, till our wedding day.'"

Everyone sings together, "'It will not be long love…

Till our wedding day.'"

Everyone applauds, including the Panem kids, and then the adults converse.

"And the winner…" Miss Walker says, her green eyes smiling almost as large as her mouth, "Panem!" Everyone cheers and the club whoops, exchanging laughter, cheers, and a lot of high fives.

~.~.

Later, the two groups enjoy a banquet at the festival, talking and laughing and mingling together.

"Hey," Byna says, "You okay? You seem a little off…" She's still not great at being social and talking to people, but she tries really hard for Crawley's sake.

"Fine," Crawley breathes. They both take food and each take a seat at a table.

"I'll be right back," she says, getting up and walking towards the restrooms.

Suddenly Crawley feels a gentle tap on his shoulder and looks up to see the beaming blue eyes and the much less baby-like face.

"Hey you!" he says, his lips forming into a smile, "Remember me?"

"Holden!" Crawley gets up to hug him, a hug that is soon returned.

"Sorry about five years ago…" he says quietly. "I panicked. By the time I realized how dumb it was I figured you'd have forgotten."

"Never. It'd be pretty hard to forget you," he teases, causing his Capitol friend to laugh.

"You don't easily escape the mind, either," Holden says, poking his stomach. Crawley squeaks, causing his friend to laugh.

Crawley sees Byna returning and lets go quickly, feeling more and more conflicted.

"So, how are you?" asks Holden, putting his stuff down next to Crawley's and sitting.

"Pretty good," Crawley says, sitting.

Byna soon sits across from Crawley again, smiling a bit.

"Byna, this is Holden." Crawley's stomach tightened. _What if they didn't like each other? _

"Nice to meet you," says Holden, shaking Byna's hand.

"You too," the girl smiles a bit.

_Of course they would have no reason to hate each other, _Crawley thought, _Neither of them really know about my past… Or about the fact that maybe I'm bisexual…? _

He realizes that now is not exactly the time to be pondering over this. He can treat them both like friends like now. After all, that's what his relationship was with Byna anyways as of now, right?

He eats and cheerfully starts a conversation with his two best friends, deciding that he can worry about what's going to explode later.


	13. Chapter 13: Redemption

_**A/N: Wow, I'm really sorry guys, I just fi**__**nd it so hard to update lately because… I dunno… Maybe because I've planned out this story so much in advance and only two people are still reading it. Also, 36 is much more interesting. But I'm going to try and write anyways. The next couple of months will probably only be one per month.**_

**Chapter 13: Redemption**

_Songs used: The Phoenix by Fallout Boy, I'll Stand By You (Glee Cast Version), All of Me by John Legend_

The next glee club rehearsal in April is extremely awkward. Mr. Everdeen is out at a meeting. The students sit in silence. Mr. Fellington frets nervously, the kids exchange glances. Nobody wants to be the first to speak up. Tanner wrings his hands nervously, Ben grudgingly next to him and making faces at Jason. Not even the usually-lively Crawley talks at all. He still hasn't confronted either Byna or Holden about his situation. Tanner bites his lip, the words to speak up on the tip of his tongue, but swallowing them down.

Soon, the silence is shattered when the door opens and the students turn to see a familiar face, a baby backpack slung over his broad shoulders, a winning smile painted across his face.

"Mr. K!" Rue says, and soon everyone releases a breath.

"Hey guys," he says with a smile, the baby bouncing happily. He takes a seat on the stage. "Hey Drake." He smiles at Mr. F, who crosses his arms in response but doesn't greet him with the usual Fellington scowl.

Platinum turns to the kids, confused. "What's his deal?"

"He hasn't made one derogatory remark today," Locke says, "Not one." The other kids nod quickly, and their student teacher fails to comment.

"What's your deal?" Platinum asks him.

"Nothing's my _deal_!"

"You're scared, aren't you?"

Mr. F crosses his arms and turns beat red. "Of course not!"

Platinum raises an eyebrow at the kids, as if he expected this exact reaction. "Drake's a good friend of mine. He's freaked out by people sometimes, and by himself. I was glad he got sent here, because I figured if there was anyone that could be patient with him, it'd be you guys."

The kids exchange a look. They haven't exactly been… _patient_.

"What's up with you today?" Platinum asks, then he gives the kids a look that says _Watch this! _"Is it Champagne?"

Mr. Fellington practically falls off the piano bench. The kids try their best not to laugh.

"Is not!"

"Is it not? Is it okay if I ask her out, then?"

"Shut up!" Mr. Fellington shouts, his face going even redder, "You've got yours!"

Platinum leans back, winking at the kids as the baby strapped around his chest waves his arms at the kids.

"You should just ask her out already. She's not going to say no."

"No. I can't tell her how I feel."

"Why don't you sing it?" Skeeter asks, and everyone glances at him.

"It is easier that way…" Crawley says thoughtfully. His stomach flips at the nostalgic look in Byna's eyes.

"Yeah? And what would I sing?" His fingers twitch a bit on his lap.

"It looks like you have an idea," Platinum says.

"Maybe. It's really dumb though."

"It's always a good thing to sing your feelings!" Tanner says. "Wow, that's really corny."

"It does help, though," Bonnie remembers.

"Speaking of…" Tanner bites his tongue.

"Right, we should have a real rehearsal," Mr. Fellington says absently.

"So, it's sing-all-our-feelings week, yeah?" Everyone laughs but nobody objects. "Who would like to go first?" Everyone glances at their current student teacher.

Crawley doesn't even know how he feels. In the back of his mind, he knows what it is: lovesickness and frustration that he's allowed Holden to make him that way. He pushes those thoughts away, though. Maybe if he doesn't admit it, he'll get over it. Besides, there's no song Crawley can think of that radiates extreme confusion and guilt.

Tanner speaks up shyly, "Uh, I'll go." Everyone looks at him. He gets up slowly, nervously biting on his lip. "I've been going back and forth about singing this song…" he nods at the pit, who he'd previously talked to about it. "But, I decided this is a good time for it." He loads his accompaniment into the iPod and takes a deep breath, nervously.

This song is a big task, and though it fits into Tanner's range well, he still feels unsure. He shakes off his nerves to sing.

"Put on your war paint…" He avoids looking towards Ben as he starts into the first verse. A song of this style and caliber is not one to be shy on, and Tanner knew it from the first time he heard it playing and thought about Ben Hoffsteader.

"We are the jack-o-lanterns in July,  
Setting fire to the sky!  
He-here comes this rising tide,  
So come on! Put on your war paint!"

He tries to ignore the impressed (or, well, he _thinks_ they're impressed) looks his peers exchange, and avoids, for the moment, looking for Ben's reaction. In all honesty, he's not sure how Ben is going to react. It could possibly get violent… No time to take a deep breath now, he has to let the music take him.

"…You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start,  
So dance alone to the beat of your heart!"

He starts into the chorus, his mind thinking nothing but of the song and of his boyfriend. The determination to do all he can to make Ben better engulfs Tanner's heart and soul, and he realizes that singing out feelings can be really awesome.

"Hey young blood!  
Doesn't it feel… like our time is running out?  
I'm gonna change you… Like a remix,  
Then I'll raise you… like a phoenix!

You're wearing our vintage misery  
No, I think it looked a little better on me!  
I'm gonna change you… like a remix,  
Then I'll raise you, like a phoenix!"

He goes into the next verse, feeling more confident and powerful. Tanner has never once in his life felt powerful, thanks to controlling, homophobic parents, bullies, and so-called "friends" that fail to listen to what he has to say. This glee club, and with Ben, are the only places Tanner has ever felt important. And he's going to hold on to that.

"Because the world is just a teller and, we are wearing black masks,  
"You broke our spirit," says the note we pass!"

Tanner makes his eyes go to the crowd, lock eyes with Ben and hope that there's enough fire behind them that Ben can see the determination Tanner has in his very being, burning in his very soul.

"The war is won,  
Before it's begun…  
Release the doves,  
Surrender love!"

After the lines are repeated comes the big note that Tanner had once been terrified of. Now, though, Tanner feels ready to hit it and nail it. He feels like he could do anything.

He repeats the refrain after, holding eye-contact with Ben throughout. He doesn't feel very much like his natural self in that moment, but he definitely likes the change. For once, Tanner Cooper is doing the talking, and everyone around him is doing the listening. Not a control freak, but Tanner could get used to this feeling every once in a while. He doesn't want to fade into the background any longer, he wants to be active and make an important change. He wants to be out to his parents, he wants to be recognized and important, he wants to work hard and make a change in Ben, the only person in the world Tanner is 110 percent positive he is madly in love with, for whatever stupid reason.

Tanner ends the song with one last, "Put on your war paint!" and the instrumental accompaniment ends, leaving everyone, including Tanner, in a stunned silence. Nobody expected Tanner, sweet, quiet, gentle little Tanner, to sing such a hardcore kind of song.

"I'm not going to stop," says Tanner, his voice shaking from emotions and exhaustion, "Until I'm able to help you. Ben… Nothing is going to keep me from you. Ever. Not my parents, not the people around me. Not even _you_, Ben. I'm coming out, with or without you. I'm going to help you be happy. No matter what."

Tanner takes his seat next to him, putting the microphone down.

Ben looks just as stunned as any of the others. Everyone's eyes are on him. "Er… I don't know what to say…"

Skeeter holds out the microphone to him, a look in his eyes Ben had never seen before, making him both sick and overwhelmed with emotion. Ben looks through the playlist on the iPod and finds the song that came to his mind.

"Oh… why you look so sad?  
Tears are in your eyes,  
Come on and come to me now.

Don't… be ashamed to cry…  
Let me see you through,  
'Cause I've seen the dark side too."

It definitely isn't a lie. As sick as Ben's stomach feels, and as much as he wants to hurl and run away from there, as much as he _wouldn't_ like to pour his most vulnerable and dark emotions to the entirety of the people he's made miserable, it happens anyways, and he can't stop it.

"I'll stand by you.  
I'll stand by you!  
Won't let nobody hurt you…  
I'll stand by you."

Yes, Ben definitely feels sick. He avoids looking at anyone and everyone. He knows that they're either going to give him a second chance or hold the everlasting grudges against him. For some, like the scowling Jason Hollow, Ben decides that it's never going to end. And, for the moment, that's okay. He's got Tanner, and that's what matters right now.

"So, if you're mad, get mad!  
Don't hold it all inside.  
Come on and talk to me, now…  
Hey, what you got to hide?  
I get angry too.  
But I'm a lot like you…"

It's truer than is let on by Ben's eyes.

"And when...  
When the night falls on you, baby  
You're feeling all alone  
You won't be on your own…" He continues to the next chorus, trying his very best to keep tears from coming.

"I'll stand by you…  
Take me in, into your darkest hour,  
And I'll never desert you…  
I'll stand by you!"

As much as he had tried to close himself off, Ben knows the battle is lost. He can't stay hidden in a shell forever. And now, he knows that no matter how bad he messes things up, Tanner is _not_ leaving. And Ben didn't realize until today, not until this very moment when he's standing across from this boy, the boy that changed him, that forced him to expand his boundaries and stand outside his house, Ben didn't realize until today that he never wants Tanner to leave. And he never wants to leave. And by God, if anyone in the whole world were to hurt this boy with the pretty blue eyes and neat black hair sitting and watching him, Ben would kill them. Alright, maybe killing is a little… _extreme._ Maybe.

His throat catches, his stomach tightens, and a tears rolls down his cheek that he tries to control. He can feel everyone watching him, but he doesn't stop singing. He's not sure he could if he tried.

He finishes the song, "I'll Stand by You…" and the last note fades away into silence.

Nobody speaks. When Ben looks at them, some are gaping in silence. Some are smiling. Jason has his typical _this-guy's-a-giant-jackwagon_ scowl on his face. Skeeter is grinning, and gives him an encouraging nod.

"Tanner…" Ben mutters, staring at the ground.

Tanner looks up at hearing his name, his eyes tearing up. Tanner can be powerful, but he knows that being out to everyone he knows is much easier said than done. Especially when his parents have stressed their dislike for homosexuality.

"I want to come with you," says Ben, biting his lip. "When you come out to your parents. I want to be with you. I want to be there. I want to protect you. If you'll let me."

Tanner chokes on tears, nodding and quickly tackle-hugging Ben. The other kids applaud, except for Jason, who mostly just looks like he ate something very sour.

Platinum looks impressed. "Alright, Drake. It's your turn." _He has something planned_, thinks Prim.

"I'm not-"

"Please, Mr. Fellington. We can help you," Rue says. Their student teacher taps his fingers nervously.

"I…"

"Do it. It takes a lot of balls, and it's terrible and terrifying… But worth it." Ben smiles slightly at Tanner in his arms.

"Besides, I'll bet you've never sung for them before. 'M I right?" The kids nod. "There you go."

Drake bites his lip. "Fine." He turns to the piano, and Platinum winks at the other kids.

His fingers spread over the kids, and the kids exchange a confused look, probably wondering what he intends to sing without any accompaniment except a piano. But, as soon as he starts the first sequence of chords, everyone recognizes the song.

"What would I do without your smart mouth?  
Drawing me in and you kicking me out?  
You've got my head spinning… No kidding… I can't pin you down.

What's going on in that beautiful mind?  
I'm on your magical mystery ride…  
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright."

His voice sounds enough like John Legend that there's barely a difference that the kids can recognize. Same range, almost the same tone, and the kids are stunned. Even though he is a music major and their student teacher, many of them hadn't stopped to think about him singing.

He seems to calm, his shoulders become less tense and he seems to relax his muscles over the keys. "'Cause all of me…  
Loves all of you…  
Love your curves and all your edges,  
All your perfect imperfections…"

The way he sings, putting himself into every word, impresses the others. Platinum lounges back, the baby having been lulled to sleep by Ben's song, smiling as if he knew the whole time that Drake was capable of this. Nobody in the room doubted that he did.

The door opens and a woman with curly blonde hair, rosy cheeks, and a sweet atmosphere surrounding her scurries in, taking a seat next to Platinum. "Why'd you call me here?" she asks, confused, before glancing up at the stage. "He's singing."

Platinum grins. "Damn right he is. He's singing for you."

She looks stunned, "Huh?"

"Sh!" Posy says, and the conversation dies out.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fellington hadn't even noticed the new addition, and continues to sing and accompany himself. "How many times do I have to tell you,  
Even when you're crying you're beautiful too…  
The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood…  
You're my downfall, you're my muse,  
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues…  
I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you..

My head's under water,  
But I'm breathing fine!  
You're crazy, and I'm out of my mind!" By the look on Platinum's face, the kids can sense that _that _was the understatement of the century.

Even though nobody in the audience could see his face, they could feel his words through his song. Nobody thought their crabby student teacher could ever feel this way about anything, and yet they believe every word he sings whole-heartedly. The young woman watching looks absolutely dumbfounded, but at the same time blushing and giddy.

"Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts…  
Risking it all, though it's hard!"

He pauses, the notes fading into silence. For a second, Miss Walker looks as if she thinks that he's frozen from stage-fright. But he starts up again soon enough, his voice holding depth and insight of his emotions, of his character.

"'Cause all of me,  
Loves all of you.  
Love your curves and all your edges,  
All your perfect imperfections…  
Give your all to me,  
I'll give my all to you.  
You're my end and my beginning,  
Even when I lose I'm winning…

'Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you…"

He takes his time with the ending, and everyone waits for the final note to become a whisper of silence before everyone bursts out into applause and whistles. Platinum smiles triumphantly and claps with the rest of them.

"Shut up," grumbles Mr. Fellington.

"That was really great, Drake!" Miss Walker says, and he whirls around so fast he practically falls off the bench again.

"What the hell did you do?!" the question is directed at Platinum.

Platinum laughs carelessly. "Me? I'm just setting up my best friends, that's what I'm doing."

"Oh, Platty…" Miss Walker says, "How thoughtful." She walks to the foot of the stage. "And Drake, your voice is amazing. Why did you not sing for me?"

"I was scared," he mutters.

"No need to be." She smiles. "No matter who that song is for, there's no way she could say no to you after something like that."

"Even though I'm me?"

"Especially _because_ you're you. You're spectacular."

His face goes even redder than it had been when he was being teased.

"Thanks," he mutters.

"Any time."

"It was for you."

"Yeah?" He nods.

"I'd love to go out with you sometime. I have to get back to Capitol, with juicy details, but we'll definitely talk later." She winks and leaves quickly, leaving a blushing student teacher.

"Alright, we can all be dismissed, then," Drake says. He sounds… _Happy_. The kids are stunned and amazed as they leave.

Platinum is the last to bid farewell, with a huge grin and a wink.

"Hey, Drake?"

The current student teacher looks up, his eyes softer, his face flushed with more color, looking three or four years younger. "What?" he sighs, trying to act like this wasn't a great day.

"You're welcome."


	14. Chapter 14: Broken Dreams and Lost Hopes

**Chapter 14: Broken Dreams and Lost Hopes**

When Prim opens the door, she doesn't expect to see Tanner and Ben there.

Neither of them look great, but Tanner especially lokos awful. "Are you alright!?" squeaks Prim.

"Hey, sorry for showing up here so suddenly, but-"

"Come in, we can help you!"

Prim guides Tanner and Ben, who supports him, to the living room. Tanner collapses on a seat groaning. Ben quickly sits next to him, glancing at him with concern.

"What happened?" asks Prim, before saying, "Hold that thought," and going to the bathroom to get some supplies. Tanner lays his head on Ben's lap, groaning despite himself. Ben strokes his hair, looking at him with concern in his eyes. "Hey, it's going to be okay."

It doesn't take long for Prim to come back with disinfectant, ice packs, Band-Aids, and all the like to help Tanner. Ben brushes bangs out of his eyes, whispering soothing words.

"Alright, what happened?" she asks, starting to patch up Tanner.

"We came out to his parents," Ben says, sighing. "And it didn't go all that great."

Tanner's lower lip quivers. After having swallowed the tears so long, Tanner finds that he can't hold them back. The words hurt when they came from bullies, sure, but they hurt so much more coming from parents, the people who had given him life and nurtured him.

"_What a disappointment you are! Get out of my house right now! And take that swine with you!"_

Had it been the right decision? _Maybe I should've waited till after college. There's no way I can fend for myself without them! _

And now, it seems that everything is gone.

"Don't worry," Ben's whisper causes Tanner to come back to his senses. Okay, not _everything._

Tanner just then notices the tears rolling down his cheeks.

"It's going to be okay," Ben says. Hearing his voice, Tanner almost believes it. His wounds sting as Prim cleans them out, and he tries to focus on Ben's voice and on his ever-so-gentle fingers stroking the bangs from Tanner's face.

"Your parents did this to you?" asks Prim. Tanner somehow manages a weak little nod, a new lump forming in his throat.

"How could they do that?" The concept was completely unthinkable to Prim. She's been surrounded by so much love, and always giving love to those around her… Well, she's talked to friends about this stuff, but it isn't really real to her until right then.

"Because I'm a disappointment," Tanner says, his voice cracking from tears and frustration.

"It's not that," Ben says, looking down at him firmly. "It's definitely not that."

"Then why is it? Because I'm a freak? Not good enough? Because I'm going to hell?" That's what they said to him. Tanner doesn't like to be so bitter and sad, but he can't help it. He feels like a disappointment, like all their words are true.

"No. It's because they're nothing but narrow-minded-"

"Ben, they're my parents." Tanner knows where he was going with that. "I'm sorry, but I still love them, and…"

"I don't know how you can do that."

"Huh?"

"I don't know how you can love someone that's done so much to you." Ben stares at the wall.

"Because I believe in second chances."

"That shouldn't matter! They hurt you!" There's a second of silence. "_I_ hurt you."

"Be quiet. All you needed was a second chance. Maybe they'll come to their senses someday." The sentence hangs in the air. "I just have to convince them."

"You're not going back there," says Prim. "Not to invade or anything, but you should stay here."

"No, I-"

"I'll go ask my Dad now." Prim quickly leaves, glad for an excuse to give them some privacy for a while. She knows if she were in their shoes, she'd want it, too.

"The girl's right. No way in hell you're going back there. Not under my watch."

"Where else have I got?"

"You can stay here for a bit."

"And when I outstay my welcome? What then?"

Ben goes quiet. "Then we come out to my parents."

Tanner pales. "But…"

"We'll worry about that when it happens."

"Ben, I don't want to-"

"Sh. No words."

Tanner tries to keep tears from coming, but by now it's pointless. Ben strokes his hair, gently wiping the tears off his cheeks.

"Why did this happen? It's not fair," Tanner chokes. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Nothing. You didn't do anything at all. IT's just how life works. It sucks."

"I can't believe I'm being so petty," he says bitterly, "Where there are people out there who are actually suffering with life-threatening problems. Death, and torture, and violence, and prejudice… I mean, there are people that have it a lot worse than me and yet here I am-"

"Sh. Your suffering isn't any less relevant. It's okay to hurt. God, I wish I'd known that a long time ago."

"It does hurt," Tanner mumbles miserably. "It hurts to know they don't accept me. Maybe they will someday."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," Ben whispers. Tanner whimpers, and Ben immediately feels bad for saying it.

He forgets how delicate and soft Tanner is. How childlike and innocent, hopeful and optimistic. Ben can't really say the same for himself. In fact, he would probably say the exact opposite. Ben isn't so naturally idealistic.

And, most distinctly of all, Ben never dares to dream. What he can see in front of his eyes are the only things he really spends time dwelling on or thinking about. He isn't so imaginative as to be able to create new worlds, situations, and relationships that aren't presented straight to him. That's probably why Tanner's so well-intentioned all the time, and so able to love freely with all his heart.

Tanner can imagine a Ben that is changed and can't hurt a fly. Tanner can imagine a set of parents that apologizes and promises to never hurt him again, and keeps that promise. Tanner is a dreamer, and Ben is not.

Ben gazes into the bright blue eyes of the person he loves, dark and heavy with sadness.

_Maybe someday he'll teach me how to dream. _

He wipes more tears from Tanner's cheeks and eyes, as softly as he can manage. "You're going to be okay. I'll always stand by you. This is all going to solve itself, you'll see."

Tanner doesn't believe it anymore.

~.~. Crawley sits on a riser. The expansive, huge auditorium of the high school is almost completely pitch black, except for the light of one single lamp that sits on the stage. There is a horribly cold breeze on Crawley that makes him shiver.

The auditorium is filled by the sound of the great piano, Byna behind it. She looks so beautiful in the dim light, sitting tall and looking so carefree and relaxed. And the music is absolutely out of this world. Of course she's just _practicing_, but Crawley can't tell when she messes up from what's right anyways.

He sits with a book on his lap, but he isn't reading. Even when he tries to read, he's distracted by some flourish, or a particularly pleasing chord progression, or even by Byna stopping in her tracks to point out some really cool rhythm or chord or progression that she's been working on. He'd like to be able to look at her fingers or her music, but she does not share a bench and is much too close to the end of the stage for him to be comfortable.

Listening is just fine. Every once in a while, she stops to mark her music or practice a particularly challenging string of notes, that make Crawley want to play the piano.

_How do I feel about you, then? _ He would never ask that question out loud. How could she even begin to answer that? He wouldn't want to make her try.

He can't keep making excuses to why he can't go out to dinner with Holden. (Yeah, Holden still doesn't know. Crawley's considered telling him but still doesn't know what to do with either of them.) It's pretty easy to make excuses, because most of them are, in fact, honest, and not excuses at all. When you have a driver's license in a house with brothers at college, parents that are always working, and three younger sisters (that have drastically different interests), the evenings fill up pretty fast.

Anyways, in moments like this, in the serene and peaceful place, Crawley feels so strongly infatuated with Byna. He can just see and hear and feel her passion and love. She hardly gets excited about anything as much as she does with music, especially the ivory keys. He just can't seem to keep his eyes off of her. And he knows that he'll look back and remember the sensations of this moment, listening to the piano music of someone he holds very close to his heart.

_But… How? _He just doesn't know. But he does know that he's not going to be able to avoid it very much longer.

He can't forget Holden, either. The twinkle in his eyes when Crawley would comment that he's humming. Or the laughter, that sometimes just comes from being happy. Everything that Holden does, he tries to put as much of his heart into it as he can, and Crawley respects that. He's the very same way. Even if he doesn't like something, Crawley tries to put heart into it anyways, which is something Byna doesn't care to do very much.

Crawley's thoughts are momentarily jousted when Byna switches into the observatory theme from Super Mario Galaxy, causing him to laugh and say, "Hey, I know that one!"

Byna laugh, too. She really does have such a pretty laugh, when she uses it. Hard to believe she's the same person Crawley tried to coax out of her shell last fall.

_I really do love you, _he thinks, as her fingers go back to the keys and play long, melodious lines that ring out on the school's only baby grand. _But I'm not sure how I love you, exactly. It's hard when you're a big brother. You always go out to protect and nurture people. I'll bet that's why my feelings are so confused. _

Why do things have to suddenly be so hard? Crawley wants the easier days back, but has a feeling it's not going to be truly easy for a while. After all, after one summer, they're all going to be in college, anyways. _What does any of it matter? Soon, we'll all be gone, anyways. Separated, and back to nothing but polite strangers or acquaintances. _

He realizes Byna had just said something, and quickly pipes in. "Oh yeah, that's cool!" he feels bad for saying that, but isn't about to admit to her that he was so deeply lost in his thoughts. It's so easy to get lost in such a place as he is, after all. Surrounded by the sound of music and the dim light…

Crawley is excited for college. He makes friends easily enough that it should be no problem to him to make some new ones, if he were to need them. He can adapt to new environments, and is very flexible to change (well, growing up in a household with so many children as he did, it's just an inherited skill).

He's been helping out at drum major classes, spending time with Byna, and he's been spending time with his sisters, waiting for his older brothers to get home from college. He's been spending time with friends of both genders, and sat out in the park with Holden.

"The way this all layers together is super weird," Byna comments, "Because these two rhythms don't even fit together!" She concentrates, trying to decipher the parts written on the music. Crawley watches her with a small, silent sigh.

His past doesn't haunt him, and the far future isn't scary to him.

He's not so excited for the immediate future, though.

Crawley knows that before the summer is over, he's going to have to break a heart.

And he wants to make sure it's all for the best.

~.~.

_There were three names on that goddamned list, and Locke Gedeckt wasn't one of them. _

He rolls over in bed and stares at the wall. So maybe it was the right decision. Locke just couldn't see it.

"I'm really sorry," Jason had said, looping an arm around his shoulders. Locke didn't _want _him to feel sorry. He knew that even though Jason got it and he didn't, it wasn't Jason's fault.

He didn't feel much like talking and retired as soon as he got home.

"_Everyone did a fantastic job," Crawley had said. _

"_It was a tough choice," Byna had added. _

That doesn't matter so much to Locke right now. He has no idea how he could've put so much work and effort and heart and soul into it and not be good enough. He lies awake and replays the entire audition in his head again, trying to pick out where he went wrong that the three had gone right.

"I'm sure it was just a style or personality thing," Mrs. Hollow told him, but that doesn't help, either.

He had worked so hard, he wanted it so badly. Ever since he was a rookie, marching band was his home. And he wanted to take it far, and be up on that podium, and get the scores and learn them and conduct them, and march in the very front of the band with a high chin.

He practiced a lot, and he gave it everything he had, and he didn't get it. And yeah, that made him really sad. Probably the worst part, though, is that Jason _did _get it, and Locke didn't want to choke him of the celebration. He cares way too much about his best friend for _that_.

It's simple, really. Jason's dream had come true, that evening. And Locke's dream had been destroyed.

The thing is, Jason knows how much it meant to Locke, and he's sad that it didn't happen for him. He wanted their senior year together to be perfect, and being a drum major was Locke's vision of perfect. Jason knew he'd recover: Locke is a pretty resilient guy: but he also knew it would take some time.

Jason is sent back to that miserable span of time during which Locke's most precious item (and last memory of his father) was stolen. It had been a Herculean task just to make Locke crack a smile back then. Jason hates to see him so upset, but knows there's not much he can do right now except for let him have some space.

Unable to sleep from excitement, Jason stays awake and texts Santana. _She was once in my shoes, she'll know what to do. _Santana, (Jason's uh… Well… Girl-ish thing?) was a drum major when he was a sophomore. She just tells him that it's for the best to leave him alone and let him cool down. She promises that he'll be right back on his feet, and Jason can believe that.

He can hear the wind-up pocket watch's plingy tune being played repeatedly from Locke's room, hoping that'll comfort him a little bit. Soon, the tune stops, and when Jason sneaks a look through the doorway, Locke is asleep and breathing peacefully.

Jason walks back to his room, tells Santana good night, and thanks her for her advice and again for yet another congratulations before he curls up in his covers and closes his eyes to get some sleep.


	15. Chapter 15: New Beginnings

**Chapter 15: New Beginnings**

Here it is.

Crawley Archer sits in the gymnasium, surrounded by his fellow classmates, all looking radiant in their graduation robes. After so many long years of high school, they all made it.

He's able to receive his diploma. Soon, he'll be off to college. He'll also have to figure out who he wants to be. But, he has plenty of time for that.

Now, his road has come to the end of his time in high school, and the beginning of the amazing things he has yet to do. He's going to miss his friends, though, which means that this summer is going to be full of get-togethers. He's not new to the process, having two brothers before him settle into colleges, but now it's his turn.

He takes the evening to enjoy the time with the great friends he had the pleasure of meeting over their years together. He talks to the few underclassmen playing in the small band (including his sisters) and bids them all farewell, though he promises he'll be back. The marching band has done so much for him, he could never leave it behind.

Anita Elisabeth Binnaport can't help but shed a tear or two. She never expected to fit in so well, and never to find a home in this tiny little community. And yet, she doesn't want to leave.

Through this year, Aerobyna learned so much about who she wants to be as a person and what she wants to do. She became independent from her snarky parents, fell in love with a dirt-poor boy. She learned a lot about the power of friendship and love, and while she's still a bit of an introvert, she feels like she's grown out of her shell, as corny as that sounds.

She has a support group now, that she can confide in. She has most everything she could've needed in Crawley, especially a new sense of light and humor and laughter that she never really had before. She's not so ready to leave her friends behind, but knows that the future is bright and full of laughter.

She can't help but remember how quiet and shy she was at the beginning of that year, and insecure, and how much she hid. She can't help but smile when she thinks about the whirlwind that was this year, the lessons learned, the relationships made, and the bonds that will last her a lifetime.

Tanner Tyson Cooper got what he always wanted. The person that he was always determined to save.

He made strong friendships with the people around him. He couldn't have made it through the stress and trials and sadness without them. When he first came to Panem, he was a dorky little junior with no friends and no place he belonged. He was a vulnerable little target to bullies, and got picked on constantly.

He had just talked to the first person he saw that looked nice to him, and he didn't know it then, but it would completely change his entire life. The friendship he has with Rue and Skeeter is going to last for a lifetime. They were always there to support and protect each other.

Through the year, Tanner found where he belonged. He found friends that he could talk to. He found a love for music he barely even knew was there. He became more assured in his identity. He became more confident and realized how important he is as an individual. He found strength and courage where he had never been able to find it before.

Not to mention the fact that he had found a long-term, lasting relationship with the most perfectly imperfect person he's ever seen. Tanner never thought he'd find someone that made him so happy, and he honestly doubts he'll be able to find someone that makes him so happy ever again.

Then there's Ben Hoffsteader.

He was a real train-wreck, and he knew it. He couldn't seem to get out the cycle of misery he had been stuck in. Becoming insecure, taking out his insecurities on the people that surrounded him, trying to get away from guilt with drugs, needing money for drugs and getting it in dirty ways… Yeah, he was really stuck. He never thought he'd be able to overcome his own misery.

What he didn't know, what he wishes he would've known so much earlier than when he did, is that he couldn't just beat his negativity by himself. No, he needed help, and not just from threats at the tip of Jason's pocketknife. No, Ben wouldn't be helped by violence. He's seen too much, given too much pain for it to have helped him at all.

No, Ben needed help from the most positive, loving person he's ever met before in his life. No, the most positive person in the world, he's convinced. Because, let's face it, Jason and Skeeter's eternal wrath didn't do anything but make everything worse.

Ben never thought anyone would love him, and yet someone did. Through everything. And suddenly Ben realized that it didn't matter if this person wasn't a girl, he really wanted to love him. He didn't want to hurt him anymore, in fact he felt kind of appalled at himself that he would ever lay a finger on the little beacon of light and love that he had now.

It just took Tanner speaking up to do it. Somehow, one person changed Ben's entire life and turned it from a miserable cycle of hopelessness to something important, delicate, and purposeful. Tanner did so much for him, and Ben still isn't sure if he can ever return that favor.

Marvel is kind of the same way.

He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to graduate, and yet he's up on that stage, receiving his diploma.

It certainly wasn't easy. It took a lot of work, effort, and sleepless nights to get to where he is. He hated it at the time, but suddenly, he didn't regret any of it. He's going to do something with himself. Nothing is really assured or written in stone, but he wants to work hard and achieve things that are much bigger than he ever would've thought to dream.

When he was a freshman and a sophomore, reputation was everything. He wanted everyone to like him, but especially the ones that seemed to matter above everyone else. What he really needed, though, was a group of friends that would accept him for him.

Poppy helped him find that, and so did Edward. Honestly, he couldn't believe how much the two of them have bonded over the years. And Kelley, as well. Marvel really enjoyed getting to know them, even if he never thought he would at the time. He's sad to be leaving them, but knows that this isn't the final goodbye. It's a whole new door for him to go through, and it can lead wherever he wants if he sets his mind to it!

Poppy is the last of that group to get a diploma.

Her years in high school have a roller coaster of emotions, with too many ups and downs to count. Making friends and losing them. Trying to make do and make ends meet. There were some seriously scary points for Poppy when she honestly wasn't sure if her family was going to get by.

After a bunch of hard work to succeed brought her to this point, and the hardest work hasn't even begun. She wants to be an artist, which is a field that is already declining on its own. And not to mention student loans… The future is constantly uncertain, but the one thing that Poppy has for sure is her relationships and bonds with the people that helped her to get this far.

And, right now, in her ever-changing and unstable world, they really mean the world to her.

"Everyone, may I present to you, the 2015 Panem High graduates!"

The crowd cheers as the class of 2015 throws up their hats.

~.~.

"Rebecca, honey, could you hold up this banner?! Miranda, help Natalie with that tablecloth! Dill, how are those snacks going!?"

"Ready and on the table, Mom!" the oldest Archer child says, "What else?"

"We're just finishing the decorations," Mrs. Archer says, "I think your father and Cliff need help with that volleyball net, though."

The Archer father stands out in the yard, wrestling with some poles.

"Hold on, Dad!" he rushes out to help his father and brother. Soon, the net is set up with some other outdoor games, and just in time.

"Oh, I see a car! Cliff, go get Crawley, would you!?"

"Wait, is it Zoey?"

"No," Dill rolls his eyes, "Now just go get him, why don't you?"

"Alright, alright." The second-oldest Archer kid goes into the house. "Hey Cinderella! Your party's starting now! C'mon!"

"Coming!" Crawley tries not to sound nervous.

This is going to be one of the first times that Holden and Byna are going to be in the same place at the same thing. And, oh yeah, Crawley hasn't really told either one about the other.

_What if they both try to be flirty!? I can't… Oh God…_

"Cinderella! C'mon, your chariot's gonna turn into a pumpkin!"

"Cliff, I'll be right down! Just… Gimme a minute! I have to… Piss!"

Cliff makes a face, "Fine!"

Crawley goes to the bathroom, splashing his face and staring at himself in the mirror. _I… I can't break their hearts… I… I don't know… What if Holden makes a move today!? What if it's in front of Byna!? _

Visions of possible situations that might happen come to Crawley's mind. Getting yelled at, or even worse, both of them crying. He doesn't want to be a heartbreaker…

"You okay in there?" Rebecca knocks on the door.

"Fine," Crawley says, his voice strained. He splashes his face, trying to steady his breathing. Then, he leaves the bathroom. "Sorry, I'm just nervous."

Rebecca laughs a little. "You have no reason to be nervous! It's your day! C'mon, there are hamburgers down there and they have your name on them."

"Not literally, right?"

Rebecca laughs, relieved that at least he's joking like himself. "No, not literally."

When he gets out to the front yard, he's hugged by each of his five siblings and his parents, as well as his grandparents. Soon, more guests start to arrive. Tanner and Ben are the first of Crawley's friends to show up.

Crawley forgets about his panic talking to them, and actually eats some food and enjoys it. His appetite disappears when Byna shows up next. He doesn't like to feel so panicky when she's around (because let's face it, that's not how relationships are supposed to work), but he can't help it.

"Hi," she says, giving him a peck on the cheek. He smiles but on the inside he feels slightly terrified. The next to show up are Marvel and the O'Callaghans, who help to ease the tension Crawley feels, but only slightly. Rue and Skeeter come next, and that seems to help. Cutter, the third drum major, comes but doesn't stay for an incredibly long time.

Things suddenly go downhill for Crawley when he sees Holden's bright blue eyes smiling and twinkling happily. Luckily for Crawley's sanity, Byna is engaged in conversation with Tanner and Ben when Holden gives him a brief, one-armed hug in greeting. "Congratulations!" he says, smiling brightly.

"Thanks." Crawley laughs a little bit. Panic builds in his chest. Rue and Skeeter greet Holden and they have a conversation for a while. Jason and Locke show up next, and soon after them Prim, Rory, Bonnie, and Posy. Some assorted other saxophones, friends, and relatives show up, but Crawley feels trapped and helpless trying to spend time with people while keeping Byna and Holden separated.

Jason and Ben almost get into a screaming match, but it's stopped by Locke and Tanner.

Elijah shows up and Crawley feels happy to see the returning senior, but the panic is still high. Other guests show up to congratulate him, but Crawley still feels panicky.

Byna comes back over after some time, taking his hand and smiling in that cute little way of hers. Instead of feeling affectionate, though, Crawley just feels terrified. He feels so trapped and helpless. Soon, he takes a seat at one of the tables, trying to calm down and stop shaking.

"Hey, you okay?" Byna means well, Crawley knows it, but she's not really helping.

"Yeah, I'm just… A little bit chilly from that breeze." Some excuse.

Holden comes over to sit with them, his smile wide and waving, and Crawley can't take it anymore. He stands up quickly, trying to hide the shallow breaths and tears in his eyes.

"I'll be right back," he chokes, voice shaking. He takes off at a fast-walk toward the house. Once he's in the house, he takes off in a run towards his room, grabbing his pillow and starting to cry. He doesn't know what to do, but it doesn't matter. They're both going to find out now, and they're going to hate him, and everything is ruined…

He sits by himself, hyperventilating and crying into his arms.

Suddenly, he hears a knock on the door. When he looks up, Byna and Holden stand in the doorway, looking concerned.

"Oh my God! Crawley!" Holden goes in and Byna follows, both of them kneeling in front of him.

"Are you alright!?" Byna asks, "What happened!?"

"I can't…" he gasps, "I'm sorry! I c-can't…" Byna goes off to the bathroom to get him a cup of water, and Holden helps him sit up.

"What happened?"

Byna puts the cup in his hands and Crawley shakily drinks, trying to control his tears. "I… I can't…" Confession time. He sighs a little bit, his voice still low and threatening to crack from the tears. "Holden and I had a relationship thing back a while ago, and it was my first kiss and I really liked him and I think I still do. Byna is my girlfriend and I don't want to break her heart because I love her too. I'm sorry guys… I just… Can't… I…"

"Oh…" Byna bites her lip. "Crawley, I…"

"I'm sorry Crawley…" Holden looks upset. "If I'd known you were taken I wouldn't have flirted… I just… I…"

The tears come back, along with the panic. "I should've just t-told you guys… I just… I can't choose and-"

"Crawley." Byna interrupts him sternly. "Look… We have our whole lives ahead of us. But I think we can all agree that we don't want you to be all worked up about this. You have time, Crawley. We have time to grow into ourselves. We can figure it out, it doesn't have to be now."

Holden nods in agreement. "I would much rather us just be friends. Things might go where they go, and they might not. Please, don't stress yourself out…."

Crawley wipes his teary eyes. "You… You're not mad…?"

"Love is tough," Holden says.

"Let's… Just be friends." Byna's heart is broken, sure, but she doesn't want to make it hard on him. Maybe they'll get back together someday. It's pointless to worry. "Let's give it time and figure things out."

Crawley smiles a bit through his tears. "You guys are too great." He hugs both of them, and they hug back.

"C'mon, Crawley," says Holden, as he and Byna help him up.

"Yeah, you still have a whole party down there!" she says.

Crawley lets himself grin. He knows they're right, and whatever happens will happen, and the time to worry about it isn't now. He's got himself two of the greatest best friends he could've asked for.

"I'll race you guys to the cake table!"


	16. Chapter 16: Have Faith

**Chapter 16: Have faith**

"So, what do we know about them?" Jason asks, as he and Locke prepare bowls of snacks.

"Abriella Piccozzi and Kuzey Ward. Obviously both seniors like us."

"No duh," Jason deadpans.

"Jason, do you want my insight or not?" Locke asks, though he sounds teasing.

"You say that like you're oh-so-wise."

"I am." Locke hums as he helps Jason put a tablecloth on the kitchen table.

"Anyways, back to the topic at hand," Jason sighs. Locke keeps a high disposition even though Jason will be gathering with the other two drum majors without him. Locke is confident in the directors' choice and refuses to stay knocked down. He's spent enough of his high school life upset and never wants to be back in that mindset again. So he decided to help Jason prepare the house for their get-together.

"Right. Okay, Abriella Piccozzi. A loud, proud, brassy trombone player. She's been in jazz band for a while, remember?"

"Yeah, of course. She plays loud, even when she has no idea what's going on."

Locke laughs. "Yes, of course. I haven't talked to her much, but she's very… Hm… Bold. Or at least, that's how it seems."

"No kidding." Jason sighs. She can really yell, as they found in the drum major classes and auditions, and she can make a big presence out of herself. She intimidated both of them from day one, and for good reasons.

"How do you think I should go about trying to be friends with her?" Jason asks. He can't help feeling completely lost without Locke there to initiate conversation.

"It shouldn't be too hard. Not a lot of awkward silence with her. You just need to keep it going and be open to being friends, and things should go just fine."

"Right." Jason finishes putting everything together and checks the time, swallowing hard. "What about Kuzey?"

"An alto saxophone. He's autistic, but from what I've seen he's sweet. I haven't really interacted with him much." Jason looks slightly pale. The thought of facing people he doesn't know very well without Locke frankly makes him anxious.

Locke notices. "Don't you worry, Jason, it'll all be just fine. I'm sure you'll all get along as soon as the ice breaks. You can do this. I have faith in you, okay? Besides, this is good practice. I mean, what if we end up going to different colleges? You'll need to know how to make new friends, right?"

Locke meant to reassure him, but Jason doesn't feel very reassured. In fact, now he feels worse. I mean, he's kind of been thinking ahead to college but he never imagined going to a different college than Locke. The two are like brothers, practically inseparable. But Jason can't depend on Locke forever… And he knows that. But this is so far out of his comfort zone…

With each second the clock ticks forward it's closer and closer to 1:00, when the other two drum majors were set to show up. Jason feels a bubble of anxiety in his chest.

"I can't do this. Tell them I'm sick and send them home-"

"Jason, listen to me. It'll be just fine. I'll walk through the living room to the kitchen if you need anything. You're perfectly capable of making friends, okay? You got it."

"I dunno. It's just going to be _so_ awkward…"

"It won't be as bad as you think. Abriella and Kuzey are going to be just as worried as you, but it'll all work out. I promise." Locke pats Jason's shoulder.

Suddenly they hear a knock on the door and Jason freezes up.

"C'mon. You can do it." He goes to get the door, and Locke disappears.

Jason takes a deep breath, the Locke in his head spewing out encouragement. _You can do it, you can do this, you got it._ Jason takes a deep breath and opens the door.

A girl stands there to greet him, bouncing on her feet. She has Italian skin and dark hair pulled back in a long, wavy ponytail and bright brown eyes that sparkle with nervous excitement.

"Hi!" She says, bouncing on her feet nervously.

"Uh, hi." Jason scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.

"We've never properly talked before, so I guess I should say it's nice to meet you…? But we're not meeting for the first time so…" she shrugs, "What do you say?"

Jason shrugs. "Well, uh, please, come in. You're the first to show up."

Abriella smiles and steps into the house. Jason tries a small smile. In his mind he repeats the question, _What would Locke do? _

"We have lots of snacks… 'Nd stuff… If you want to… Y'know… Eat…"

"Oh, right. Yeah, thanks." Abriella grabs a handful of chips as they hear another knock on the door.

"That's probably Kuzey." There's a kind of tension in the air and Jason can't help feeling awkward.

_Oh God everything is going to crash and it's just going to be three hours of us sitting in awkward silence I can't do this what do I do!? _He makes himself go to open the door. Sure enough, the third and final drum major is waiting, looking nervous. His hands are hiding behind his back and he chews nervously on his lip.

Jason smiles a Locke smile at him. "Hey."

"Hi," says Kuzey, sounding just as uncomfortable and awkward as Jason feels. He has a Turkish complexion with a nervous expression on his face. _He probably feels pretty lost right now, too…. What would Locke do?_

_Make him feel at home here, duh._ _But… How? _

Jason smiles a bit, trying to hide how awkward and uncomfortable he is with this situation. "Please, come in! I'm glad you came!" _Yeah, that sounded pretty Locke-like. Alright, this hasn't crashed in fire yet. Yeah, but we still have two hours and fifty-five minutes to go. _

"Oh… Thanks." Jason goes in and Kuzey follows him, going to the living room with Abriella.

"Hi!" says Abriella, who sill kind of awkwardly stands around in the room.

"Oh, you can, like, sit down. In a chair. If you want to, I mean!" The Locke inside of Jason's head facepalms. _Yeah, you're gonna do that a lot in these three hours._

"Thanks," Abri says awkwardly.

"There's food there, too," Jason says. "If you wanna, you know, eat."

Jason sits, feeling extremely awkward. He knows he should just let go but to no avail. The others sit and he pulls out his phone, awkwardly jumping on the Internet as the three of them sit in silence.

"So…" Abri says.

"So…" Jason continues. He feels utterly helpless. "How's… Stuff… Going…?"

"Stuff's going good. Pretty good."

"Hm. Good."

The conversation dies off into silence again. Jason turns on the TV to add some noise to the awkward silence. "Oh, I love NCIS!" Abriella says.

"I've never seen it before," Kuzey says quietly. He stays on his phone, glancing at the TV and the other two drum majors occasionally.

The screen shows the victim of the murder in the show, bloody and disheveled. Kuzey yelps, burying his face in his knees. "I don't like that!" he squeaks out, starting to cry, "No… I don't like that… Make it go away… Please…"

Jason is stunned. He quickly changes the channel.

"I'm sorry Kuzey!" Abriella says, "I'm sorry! It wasn't real, Kuzey, it was just make-up." She glances hopelessly at Jason. "I'm sorry…"

She sits next to him and Jason gets up to find a blanket or something to help him.

"It's okay… Just make-up…" Jason drapes a soft blanket over his shoulders.

_Not even half an hour in and it already went to hell and exploded… Oh, what would Locke do!?_

"It's not real, just make-up," Abri says, rubbing his back, "I'm sorry, I'll be a better friend. It's okay…"

_If we can't get along, this year is going to end up a disaster! If this crashes, it'll all be on me and it's going to crash and burn and what would Locke do!? _

"It's okay. We're all okay, nobody's getting hurt."

Jason pats Kuzey's shoulder. "I'm sorry. We should've been more considerate. We'll be better." Those seem like the words Locke would say. Kuzey snuggles into the blanket and looks up with big eyes. Jason hands him a tissue and Abriella helps dry the tears.

"S…Sorry…" Kuzey says quietly. "It's-"

"Sh. We should've been more considerate. It's not your fault," Abri says. Jason nods, looking concerned.

"Thanks guys…"

"Would some embarrassing pictures of my brother Gio help cheer you up?"

"Hm?"

Abri pulls one up on her phone and shows it to them. Jason laughs a little. The boy on the screen looks fairly young for being in college, but has a weird expression on that makes him laugh.

"He keeps on sending me these pictures and wonders why I use them against him." She laughs. "Oh, this is a good one!" She shows them another picture. It appears to be a selfie, with two other guys there making equally ridiculous faces.

"…Edmund? That's my brother! What's my brother doing there!?"

"No, that's _my _brother," Kuzey says, a smile spreading across his face. "He makes that face all the time." He giggles a bit, and Abriella and Jason breathe a small sigh of relief. _This could be okay after all…_

"So… Our older brothers are all… College friends?"

"Yeah, I guess so!"

"That's… Weird."

"And awesome!" says Kuzey, "Really awesome!" He giggles.

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty awesome!" Abri says.

"Yeah!" says Jason.

And in that way the ice was broken.

By the time Locke decided to casually walk through the living room to the kitchen (to check on how they were doing), the three of them are engaged in a game of Candy Land. Kuzey laughs happily as Abriella gets close to the finish.

"Go Abri!" he says. "Can I call you Abri?"

"Absolutely! It's cute!" she giggles, smiling.

"Yay! Your turn Jason!"

Locke smiles and heads to the kitchen to get himself some food.

_He's just fine without me. I knew he could do it. _

By the time the three hours are up, Jason doesn't want Abri and Kuzey to go. He couldn't believe it.

"Did you have fun?" Locke asks, smiling.

"Yeah, actually. It went well! And Abri really liked those snacks." Jason grins. He was somehow able to make two new friends by breaking the ice. He didn't need Locke to do it.

Jason still doesn't know how he feels about going to college without Locke. But he doesn't have to dwell on it too much at the moment. Whatever happens will happen. He just has to have faith.

~.~.

"You can do this, Benny."

"First off, don't call me Benny. Second off, I'm so damn nervous and scared... I don't know, Tanner… This doesn't seem like such a good idea. What if _I'm_ kicked out too!? Then what?"

"Then we go from there. We have a support group-"

"_You_ have a support group. I don't have that."

"Yes you do."

Ben shakes his head but leaves it at that. "I have a bad feeling."

"Well I don't. I'm here for you, and no matter what happens we'll be okay. We're us. We've survived a lot of stuff much worse than this. I have faith in us. I have faith in you."

Ben sighs. It's not really reassuring, coming from Tanner. Tanner has faith in everything. Too much faith, of course. It's Tanner's fatal flaw, he has too much faith in things. He has too much faith in his parents, and his situation, and even in Ben. He trusts with all his heart, even if something isn't worthy of trust. Sometimes his trusting paid off, like the faith he put in Ben and the determination to make him a good person, but usually it just ends in the poor kid's heart being broken. Ben knows that, and he knows that this could just as easily be a train-wreck as it could go successfully.

"Just relax, Ben. I'm here."

"I know… But you really don't have to do this. You can stay out here if you want-"

"No." Tanner has an unusual edge and firmness in his voice. "No. I'm going in there with you, for better or for worse. Like it or not. I'm going with you."

"Okay… If you're sure."

Tanner nods, looking determined. "C'mon. Let's do it."

Ben looks into his eyes and for just a second is able to believe that it's going to be okay. "Right."

He goes inside, Tanner following.

"Ben, is that you?" calls a woman's voice.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm home!" The owner of the voice comes into the tiny living room to see Ben.

"Oh, just in time for-" she pauses upon seeing Tanner. "Oh, a guest! Please excuse my manners!"

"Uh, no problem," says Tanner, with a small smile.

"Come, come on in. I'm sorry we don't have much to eat…"

"Oh, it's no problem, really…" Tanner says. He's slightly, uh, surprised that Ben has such a good homelife. Then again, it only _seems_ to be very good. Tanner understands the prospect of parents pretending to be all sweet while guests are over. His parents did that all the time. He keeps his guard up.

"Please, come take a seat. I'll try to have the food ready as fast as possible!"

"Do you need assistance for anything?" asks Tanner.

Mrs. Hoffsteader smiles. "No, thank you dear." She goes back to the kitchen and Ben gets to work helping to set the table, Tanner helping him with the task.

Ben looks tense and nervous, and Tanner can't blame him. After all, he's been in those shoes before, and it's horrifying to think about.

"Dinner's almost ready!" says Mrs. Hoffsteader not much later, and soon Mr. Hoffsteader appears in the kitchen and sits.

"Who's your friend, Ben?" he asks, as Ben's mom puts the food on the table.

"Tanner Cooper," says Ben.

"It's nice to meet you," says Tanner with a polite smile.

"Nice to meet you too, dearie," says Ben's Mom, taking a seat. Each of them takes some food, and starts to eat.

They make light conversation, small-talk, until the conversation goes into silence. Tanner takes Ben's hand under the table, and he knows that now's going to be the best time to speak up.

"Uh, Mom. Dad." They both look up.

"Tanner is, uh…" He avoids their eyes, not wanting to look up. Tanner squeezes his hand and he remembers why this is suddenly so important to him. And why it's worth it. "He's more than just my friend. He's my boyfriend." Wow. That was pretty short, sweet, and to the point. The hardest part is over, now they just have to brave the reactions.

"Oh…" Neither parent knows what to say.

For the longest twenty seconds Ben's ever experienced, the room is in a tight, tense silence.

Mrs. Hoffsteader speaks first. "Oh, Benny, that's _great_! We were starting to worry that you'd never find someone to even you out!"

Tanner breaks into a grin, Ben goes bright red. "Oh, uh…"

Mrs. Hoffsteader gives Tanner a hug. "You seem like quite a nice young man, Tanner!" Mr. Hoffsteader doesn't look happy but he also doesn't look unhappy. He looks quite indifferent.

"You take good care of him," Mr. Hoffsteader says, but neither of them know who he's talking to.

"I will," they say at the same time, and then laugh.

"Hey Mom…" Ben says. She looks up. "Tanner came out to his parents, and they… Didn't take it well. Could he crash here for just a little while? Please?"

"Benny, you don't have to-"

"Oh, of course!" says Mrs. Hoffsteader. "Don't you worry Tanner, we'll help you as best as we can!"

"That's very nice of you. I hope it's not too much trouble…"

"Of course not, honey, of course not. It's no trouble at all! Ben, why don't you go show him the guest room?"

"Oh, uh, sure." Ben squeezes Tanner's hand. "C'mon, love."

Ben leads Tanner to the small little guest room next to his bedroom. "Here's where you'll stay. I hope it's good enough for you…"

Tanner beams radiantly. "It's perfect. Thank you." He can't resist kissing Ben in that second, his lips just looked so soft. After the sleepless, guilty nights and the nervous atmosphere and the terrified couple of weeks before it happened, Ben allows a little laugh into Tanner's mouth.

_Have faith_. Maybe being optimistic isn't as damaging as he thought. Being pessimistic _does_ tend to bring Ben down sometimes. The kiss lasts probably much too long, but it doesn't matter. Ben wants to savor this moment. How it looks, feels, tastes, sounds… It's so good.

"Benny! Why don't you come out and we'll play a game?!" his mom calls. Ben pulls back from the kiss.

"Uh, sure!" he calls (slightly against Tanner).

"C'mon, love. Looks like things are going to be just fine for us after all."


	17. Chapter 17: Conclusion

**Chapter 17: Conclusion**

The auditorium is bustling with rookies, but the senior leaders have a meeting beforehand. Seeing all the people he knows in the neon LEADER shirts is a bit of a wake-up call. _We're seniors. Next year we're going to be in college. _Part of him can't wait but the other part doesn't even want to think about it.

Jason, Abriella, and Kuzey look sharp in their drum major shirts and Locke doesn't even feel a little bad about the turnout anymore. He knows the directors were right to pick them, as much as he wishes he could've been there. Locke knows that he can't let it slow him down and he needs to enjoy hi senior year no matter where he is. He's giving his band everything he has, because that same band gave him everything.

He looks around the room at the other students his age and knows that he only has one more year in this organization and intends to live it up as much as he possibly can. He has faith in his fellow seniors that this year could be something really great.

After at least five motivational speeches, they separate to begin training the rookies.

Being a senior and leader is everything Locke could've asked for. He gets to make friends, give commands, and teach his rookies how to march. The leaders go around to talk to other section, and Locke holds onto as many names as he can, though there are a lot more rookies than there are seniors it's kind of hard. He remembers a trumpet named Gaylen and an alto named Sadie, a clarinet named Vardaman and an assortment of others that he couldn't place until he saw a face to put a name to.

Through rookie camp Locke gets to know the rookies of his section and eats lunch with the drum majors and other seniors. He very much enjoys having them to eat with. Abri is flirtatious and forward, Kuzey is shy and gentle, and Jason is… Well… Chatty. He contributes to the conversation, laughs, and smiles more than Locke has ever seen in a group of people. It's definitely different from freshman and sophomore years… They both grew so much through their time at Panem.

After a couple days of fun and sarcastic remarks with the freshmen, band camp officially begins. Locke is the only tenor sax leader and has a lot of authority that he uses as best as he can. Sometimes he's afraid he's stepping on toes or trying to play drum major too much, but through reassurance from friends he becomes more confident in his skills as a leader, which is what he needed to be great.

The first morning of band camp begins the parade marching from the school up to the stadium. The first time Jason, Abri, and Kuzey call the band to attention is when it really sets in that this is officially their organization. It's a lot easier for all the seniors to stand taller, march prouder, hold their chins up. It's slightly terrifying but mostly exciting. The band takes off to march up, and they know it'll all be okay.

After so many basics Jason is convinced his voice is never coming back, the band is ready to start setting drill. Through their weeks of camp, the group eats lunch on the stairs, remembering last year when they ate with Crawley and Byna, and even the year before when they ate with Elijah and Nate and… Oh yeah, Santana.

Jason's been talking to her a ton throughout the summer, all about college and the cool people she met there… As he listens he wonders if her feelings have changed since leaving high school. She seems to have met a plethora of people with cool and awesome stories and personalities… Sometimes, Jason feels like he's dying to find out. But he's too afraid to ask.

Anyways, they eat lunch on the steps with Abri and Kuzey, Prim (who is now a Sequinette captain), Kelley and Bonnie, (who are having a bit of a culture shock because he's a junior and Edward is a senior), Crawley's sisters Rebecca and Miranda, and a couple of the freshmen Locke was able to make friends with at rookie camp, including a good little trumpet marcher named Gaylen and the clarinet with dyed red bangs named Vardaman. The freshmen are slightly stiff and awkward, but not for long because they others make them feel right at home.

Jason's mind occasionally wanders to the seniors that aren't here anymore (but the nice ones, not those that shall not be named), and wonders how they're doing. He wanted to try and see Santana before she left. And, like, Tanner and the other ones too. Mhm.

After exchanging jokes and band stories and showing each other funny videos, the group bonds closer and closer. The drum majors practice while the rest of the band works on music, and Locke helps out as many people as he possibly can with anything he can find, whether it be marking time or music or horn snaps. Kelley helps some of the brass surrounding him while they review pregame. Locke's tenor saxophones are put to the test and beat into shape like never before. Some of the upperclassmen roll their eyes but by the end, the section is crisp and clean.

It's the last Wednesday of camp when some of the alumni decide to visit. Jason doesn't even notice until he sees Crawley in the press box, but quickly gets excited. _Maybe she'll be here! And… Crawley, it's good to see him! _

He conducts hopefully, looking up and hoping to see Santana there sometime, or like Elijah and Nate, that'd be fine, too. After lots of freeze pops and running the show and cleaning and fixing so much everyone would rather die than march another step, Jason notices Santana there to visit and lights up. Usually he would be pessimistic, but he's not an angsty sophomore anymore. He's still pretty pessimistic, but his friends have made him so much more open to change and given him a confidence in himself that he hadn't had before.

Knowing that Santana was there made him conduct with much more fervor than he'd previously had. Watching the band marching to his conducting is slightly stunning but very exciting for Jason. He hadn't realized how much he changed until he took the time to reflect on how things were his freshman and sophomore years. And, for the first time, Jason realizes that he wouldn't change a thing.

Well, maybe he'd get the pocket watch back just a few months earlier, or maybe he'd have Ben de in a hole instead of getting with Tanner, but really that's all he can think of.

After camp, Jason looks around to see if she's there, but tries not to make it too obvious.

"Looking for someone?" Abri asks, snapping Jason out of it.

"Huh?! Nope. I just... Er…"

"He just wondered if the alumni would stick around," Locke says, joining the conversation with a knowing smirk. Jason tries to control the blush but that's one thing that hasn't really changed from sophomore year. He sighs.

"Oooooooooh-"

"Shut up," Jason says. Not quite as snappy as he used to be when he was flustered, but still slightly snappy. Abri drops it and runs up ahead to talk to Prim, while Locke just gives Jason that knowing grin that makes Jason want to kill him.

The auditorium clears out and Locke gets his keys. "C'mon, Love Puppy. Let's go home."

"Don't you dare call me that. _Don't you dare_." That's a warning.

"Alright, alright," Locke laughs. "C'mon."

The last ever day of high school band camp comes and Locke feels very bittersweet. Marching the drill better than ever before makes him realize this will be the last drill he marches with his high school band. That's pretty emotional for him, considering everything that's happened through their years of high school. Having the last lunch with those that are younger is so weird for the seniors. This is the last year they'll all be marching together. College will take them all amazing new places, and they know it.

Driving home that day and knowing that they won't go back for camp is a shock to the two boys but an exciting one. After all, they have a whole season ahead of them before they have to say goodbye, and a whole year of school left to survive, including college applications and tryouts and all the like… Jason is stressed out just thinking about it, but Locke has faith that they can all do it.

.

The group sits in Skeeter's living room, getting together one last time before college and school begin for all of them. Tanner sits in Ben's lap, Locke and Jason sit together and talk quietly, Crawley sits with his sisters and Byna, Rue and Skeeter are cuddly on the couch, Prim sits with her phone, texting Rory, Kelley sits in between Bonnie and Posy, Marvel sits cross-legged next to Poppy, the sophomores Ashley and Priscilla sit together, only slightly awkwardly, and Edward sits on a rocking chair by himself. The other alumni that did show up, Elijah, Linus, Nate, Daphne, Santana, Arrow, Katniss, Nathalia, and Theo all sit together, smiling.

After lively conversation and laughter so hard even Ben is red-faced, the short time they had together comes to an end much too soon. The older ones leave first, bidding farewell to the younger ones.

"Enjoy your senior year," Tanner says to all his friends. It's just about the time he and Ben need to get back home. "I'm so proud of you guys."

Marvel smiles at them all. "You made it," he says, "I know how weird it is when you think you couldn't and you do. But you really did make it."

_I made it. We made it_. Skeeter definitely didn't think he'd make it. He barely thought he'd make it past freshman year… "Yeah. We made it, guys," he says, breaking into a smile.

"You're going to have a lot of fun this year, even if some of it becomes bittersweet," Poppy says with a smile.

"You're so close to the next step of your life, but don't be too set on the future. Enjoy having each other in the present," Crawley says. The others nod.

"I hope we never lose touch," Tanner says. "This year was such a roller coaster ride. But I couldn't have made it if I didn't have you guys there for me. You're my best friends and just because we're not going to the same school doesn't mean we'll be any less of friends. I want to hear from you guys as often as possible."

"Yeah!" Rue says, and the others all nod quickly.

"Give the others my best wishes when you see them," Tanner says and the others agree.

"This year changed me a lot," Ben speaks up, kind of quietly at first until he notices everyone else listening carefully to him. "A change for the better. But just because I'm changed doesn't excuse how I was before. And… I'm sorry. Really. I shouldn't have done those awful things to all of you. And… Well, I never expected to sit in a room like this with anyone, so… Thanks for reaching out to me, even after all the shit I put you through. You didn't really deserve any of it. Not at all. So I'm sorry for being an ass."

"Thanks for the apology," Skeeter says. He doesn't quite have the heart to forgive Ben yet, not after all that he was put through. But hearing the genuine apology is good for him.

"Mhm." There's a silence as the rest of the groups' rides arrive to pick them up, leaving Tanner and Ben with Rue, Skeeter, Locke, and Jason.

"Good luck in college," Rue says as Tanner hugs her. "You're going to be great and meet so many new friends that will always love you." Tanner goes around the group of four and gives them each a big bear hug of farewell.

"Sing your heart out," Tanner tells Skeeter with a big hug.

"Keep in touch," Skeeter responds, hugging back tightly.

"Good luck out there," Locke says, receiving his hug and hugging back. "You can do it."

"Thanks," Tanner smiles. Ben stands awkwardly, not really sure what to say or do.

Tanner hugs Jason last, and though he gets huffy about it, he still accepts the hug and the words of good luck.

Rue gives Ben a quick hug and wishes him good luck, and Skeeter gives him an awkward handshake and a curt "good luck."

Locke pats his shoulder. "Have a good year in college, buddy," he says.

"Uh, thanks."

Jason and Ben exchange a tense look between the two of them. Nobody really says anything. Locke and Tanner give them warning glances that translate to _Be Nice. _

Ben holds out his hand and Jason briefly shakes it.

"I still hate your guts," Jason says, scowling. "_Asswad._"

Ben smiles just a tiny little bit. "I still hate your guts, too, don't worry." A grin plays across Ben's features as the handshake is released. "_Gutterball_."

_**A/N: Another year over, another HGHS story finished. Thanks to the whole two or three people that actually read and kept up! Senior year is going to be fun but slightly terrifying, but of course I have to complete the stories with my senior year! Be looking for the last one, it'll be up sometime this September! **_

_**Credit for Locke, Jason, and Aerobyna goes to Sinfonian Legend. **_

_**Credit for Holden and Kuzey goes to Wetstar. **_

_**Credit for the characters and concept of THG goes to Suzanne Collins. **_

_**Have an awesome year everybody! **_

_**~Celtic**_


End file.
